Day 26: Children With Disabilities

Day 27: Orphaned Children in Institutions

Day 28: The Girl Child

Day 29: Children of War

Day 30: Children in Poverty

Day 31: Bosnian Children

Huff and Puff before you Stuff

I received an email from my friend Matt this morning. I was so touched by his email that I want to share it in hopes that it might inspire you to plan a small gathering on Thanksgiving morning.  I spoke at his church last week, on National Orphan Sunday, about orphans.

Matt writes,

Courtney and I decided this week to put on an event, Thanksgiving Day, to benefit orphans.  Let me explain.  At our church, Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, we had a speaker who is an orphan advocate (and a friend of our family) give a short presentation on November 7.  November 7 was Orphan Sunday across the world.  Later that evening at our 2nd service, we focused specifically on the plight of orphans around the world.  So, we decided to do something about the “orphan problem” that the church is called to be a big part of.

Here’s the deal….

What?: Run or walk 1 mile with your family and then stick around for some games for the kids.

Where?: South Hills Park in Lebanon.  We are starting near the playground.

When?: 9am on Thursday, November 25th.  We will be done by 10am.

How does this help orphans?:  We are asking each family (that could be a family of 1 or a family of 10) to come with $10 cash or a $10 check made out to “Sweet Sleep.”  Sweet Sleep is an organization that provides adequate beds and bedding for orphans (most of the time their beds are highly inadequate, 1 inch mattresses, etc.) and mosquito netting to prevent malaria bites while sleeping.  Check out their website.

Why? It’s Thanksgiving.  We have a lot to be thankful for.  Plus we are going to gorge ourselves later in the day and then complain about how much we ate.  Let’s get the day started right by answering God’s call to orphans, getting some exercise, and hanging with our family and “extended” family!!!!

May this event being planned give you encouragement to plan your own Huff and Puff before you Stuff Event on Thanksgiving Day!  Let us know what you have planned!

Muslim Pilgrimage (Hajj)

November 14-17, join with others around the world in praying for Muslims as they go on the Hajj (hahj), the annual pilgrimage to Islam’s holy sites in Saudi Arabia. Participating in this religious journey is one of the five pillars, or essential parts, of Islam. Muslims are expected to attend at least once during their life. An important aspect of the pilgrimage is seeking forgiveness for sins accumulated over a lifetime. According to the prophet Muhammad, Muslims who perform the pilgrimage properly will return home as newly born babies, freed from all sins.

Although most children do not participate in the pilgrimage until they reach puberty, they do join with followers of Islam worldwide in observing Eid al-Adha (eed ahl-ahd-hah), the Feast of Sacrifice. This ceremony coincides with the end of the Hajj. Killing a sheep or goat commemorates the time when Allah provided Abraham with a ram to sacrifice in place of his son.

You can stand for Muslim kids during this festival season.

1. First get God’s perspective by reading Psalm 51:5, John 2:29, and Galatians 2:16.
2. Next ponder the following: Do newborn babies start out having no sin? Who is the Lamb of God? According to the Bible, what is the only way we can be forgiven for a lifetime of sins?
3. Now pray that Muslim families will come to know Jesus, the God-given sacrifice for their sins. Need more prayer tools? Praying Through the Arabian Peninsula has a free 5-day prayer guide you can download and a short video that explains the ceremonies performed during the Hajj.

For more information on Muslim beliefs, click here and scroll down to the section on Muslims.

World Pneumonia Day

Friday is World Pneumonia Day. Pneumonia is a respiratory infection that kills more children under the age of five than any other disease – more than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined. The lungs of a child with pneumonia fill with fluid until they can no longer function properly.  Warning signs are a cough, fever, and labored breathing. Left untreated, pneumonia can be deadly. The medical world knows how to prevent children from catching pneumonia and how to treat those suffering with this illness. Children’s lives can be saved with the widespread use of vaccines and improved access to antibiotics. Unfortunately, many boys and girls in developing countries lack access to life-saving vaccines and only 20% of children with pneumonia receive the antibiotics needed to recover.

Ways to get involved:
•    Wear blue jeans or blue clothing on World Pneumonia Day. (Children often turn blue when they have pneumonia.) Show that you care about the children who will die from pneumonia this year.

•    Send a PneumoniaGram to your public officials, asking them to make the fight against pneumonia a priority. The Global Coalition will compile and deliver these to world leaders with a unified message that the fight against pneumonia is one we must win.

•    Learn all that you can about pneumonia through the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia. Spread the word through your networks.

•    Give to help vaccinate children, provide needed antibiotics, or train health workers to treat children after they get pneumonia.

Kids Caring 4 Kids Founder Receives Award

I met Kendall’s dad at the Christian Alliance for Orphans Conference last spring. Our exhibit booth was near his Kids Caring 4 Kids booth. We joked about how similar the mission and name of their organization was to ours, Stand4Kids. We also presented together in a workshop on developing a heart for orphans in children.  Kendall’s dad (and self-proclaimed #1 assistant) shared how his daughter’s love for children affected by AIDS sprung from her personal experience with a rare liver disease. Kendall started Kids Caring 4 Kids when she was 11. Her nonprofit raise awareness about vulnerable children in Africa. What excites me about Kendall’s organization is that she invites children to become part of the solution to some really big issues and has created a structure that makes it easier for kids to take a stand for their peers.

Recently, Kendall was nominated for Glamour Magazine’s 2010 Readers’ Choice Award and SHE WON! Congratulations, Kendall. Here’s the article from Glamour’s website.

Earlier this year you nominated your real-life heroes, and then voted—in droves. Your winner? Courageous 17-year-old Kendall Ciesemier. Ciesemier suffers from a rare liver disease and at age 11 was facing her second liver transplant. But she asked friends not to send gifts: “How many teddy bears do you really need?” Instead, having learned about AIDS orphans in Africa, she requested that well-wishers donate to World Vision, an international charity. “I couldn’t imagine living like that: grieving the death of your parents and having to [support] your younger siblings,” she says. That appeal raised $15,000, prompting her to start her own nonprofit, Kids Caring 4 Kids, which helps fund a girls’ dormitory in Kenya and meals for AIDS patients and orphans in Zambia. So far Ciesemier, who’s now healthy, has raised more than $840,000—with a goal of $1 million before she heads to college next fall. Impressive! Support her work at kc4k.org.

Hindu Festival of Lights (Diwali)

November 5-10, Hindu families will celebrate the festival of Diwali (duh-wah-lee). Diwali is the Hindu New Year and is also called the Festival of Lights. It honors the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. Across India, children observe this five-day festival with new clothes, jewelry, special foods, gift exchanges, and sweets. In some parts of India, Hindus celebrate Lord Rama’s defeat of Ravana, a demon king. In other parts of India, activities focus on evoking the blessing of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity.

On the first day, families indicate the arrival of the Hindu goddess by placing small footprints drawn from rice flour or powder around their homes. Throughout the week, families attend Hindu temples, singing songs of devotion to the goddess, and leaving her offerings of sweets. In the evenings, they place small oil lamps, candles, or neon lights around their home and in courtyards. These lights represent the triumph of knowledge over ignorance, the renewal of life, and hope that the goddess of wealth and prosperity will bless them.

You can stand for Hindu kids during this festival season.

1. First get God’s perspective by reading Proverbs 1:7 and John 1:9, John 8:12.
2. Next ponder the following: What do Hindus need to know about the source of true knowledge? What is the most important light that people need?
3. Now pray that Hindu families of will come to know the true light of the world, Jesus, the one who can change their hearts and lives.

For more information about Hindu beliefs, click here and scroll down to the section on Hindus.

Voices of African Children’s Leaders: Part 3

Children’s leaders in Africa understand the enormity of the task of not just evangelizing children, but discipling them for a lifetime of following Jesus. They are dealing with issues like poverty, street children, child soldiers, and AIDS. We spent lots of time praying for the children in their countries. In our trainings, we emphasized the importance of the entire body of Christ working together to build God’s kingdom. This means reaching across organizational, denominational, and national lines. Leaders were challenged to take what they had learned and pass it on to others. Please join me in praying for the leaders who made the following comments:

Training Prayers or Commitments:

• 16 million kids in Uganda. 330,000 workers needed. God help me find partners to network with.
• I need to partner and network with others in children’s ministry.
• Relationships-God looks at me as a child of God. We must remove the cloaks of nations and work as one.
• Pray that I can get others to understand the material.
• So many kids around me. I can’t disciple them all, but others can. Those leaders need to grow deep in the Word. Want to see them grow rooted in the Word. I will work with them.
• I want to teach at least one other. Also involve kids in ministry.
• In my region most children’s workers are kids [themselves] so I want to equip them.
• We need to train the leaders of tomorrow.
• Passion to share what I have, equip others.
• That I can share the vision with others.
• That I’d share the vision with pastors.
• The harvest is big and the workers are few. I need to train more.
• Teach kids to help in discipleship.
• Wish to train 50 teachers in the coming year.
• So many village churches don’t know this information. I want to grab opportunities to use them [materials].
• Every time there was a need in the Bible, God raised up someone to meet that need. I’ve received lots of good material. God expects much from us, too. Pray it will not be shelved, but that we will pass it along to others.

Voices From African Children’s Leaders: Part 2

The students we trained expressed concerns similar to those of children’s leaders I know. How can we engage families, especially if parents are unbelievers? How can we disciple children in a way that sticks? How do we minister to children outside the church? I also heard questions that were outside the realm of my experience. One of the most alarming was how can we stop the increasing practice of child sacrifice? Will you pray for the leaders who made the following statements?

Training Prayers or Commitments:

• Convicted-as a school teacher I need to be ready to speak to children at every opportunity
• Urgency to minister to the little ones. May I be used of God to catch them while they’re still young
• I need to reach kids who don’t know Christ
• Many areas with unreached kids. Learned strategies to reach and build relationships
• How creative we can be in ministry to non-Christian kids
• That I’d make disciples of the kids I reach-difficult because I move around-and equip others to follow up with them
• We need to reach the unreached, no matter what are your resources you can do something
• I see the eight kids who are my Muslim neighbors. How can I show the love of Jesus to them and touch their families?
• Urgency to nurture children for God. Importance of involving families is on my heart.
• Have kids abducted and sacrificed. Pray for these kids and that the spirit worship would end.

Voices from African Children’s Leaders: Part 1

In September, I had the privilege of helping train some of the best and brightest children’s leaders in East Africa. Coming from seven different countries, they hold positions of influence in their churches and organizations. I have no doubt that God is and will use them to reach children for Christ and equip other teachers who will do so as well. Near the end of the seminar, leaders had the opportunity to share commitments and prayers stemming from how God was speaking to them. Will you stand with me in prayer for these leaders?

Training Prayers or Commitments:

• Help teachers, parents, etc. to understand the child.

• Concerned about children in the village-to disciple them and build relationships.

• Pray that I can get others to understand the materials.

• God give me a hunger for his word so that it would be on my heart. It’s the only way to impress kids.

• I’ve not been following up kids who come to Christ. I need to disciple kids.

• Teach kids to help in discipleship.

• Pray God will use us to talk to parents.

• I’ve been convicted. I’m tempted to quit children’s ministry. Please pray that every time I interact with kids I’ll make an impact. The harvest is big and the workers are few so I need to train more.

• Heart of a leader –I do work, but I don’t work on my heart. I am friends with kids in the country, but most go with them to church.

• God is challenging me to speak so children understand.

Shoebox Recipient

I met Janice last summer. Janice and her family were students in a Red Card class I was team teaching. Janice had lived in an orphanage called Children Shelter of Cebu (CSC) in the Philippines. After living there for four years, she was adopted by an American family right before she turned 16. This is her story of the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes that made their way to CSC.

“One Saturday, right about lunch, huge boxes came to our orphanage, but we didn’t know what was in them. Then our house parents told us that after we ate lunch we had to take a nap and after napping, the gifts would be given to us. When we heard the word “gifts” we were all so excited that we forgot the keyword “nap.” So, instead of taking a nap, I was staring down at the gifts from the railing upstairs most of the time. I could not believe it … gifts?! After the nap hours, we were told to come down. Everybody was racing down the stairs, excited to receive their presents. I mean, who would want to wait that long?

When I was given mine, I was so surprise and grateful! I mean candy canes?!! It was the very first time I’d seen a candy cane and I had no idea its flavor is mint. I love minty flavors and candy canes were just the right candy for me. I got more things I really wanted. It was the very first big gift I have received. The box was overflowing with cool stuff, and it was very overwhelming. I couldn’t stop smiling, I was just so happy and surprised.”

Check out, Operation Christmas Child, the current Take a Stand Opportunity.

Nothing But Nets

The last session of the 8-week Red Card class that I taught was set aside for kids and their families to share how the class had impacted them. It was a time to share what God showed them and how He was leading them to make the difference in the lives of children at risk throughout the world.

Jacob, who is 11, shared a statistic that made him really sad: 30,000 children die every day because of hunger or a preventable disease.  When he learned that malaria was killing more children than AIDS, he wanted to do something about it.  A soccer player, Jacob decided to dedicate his fall soccer season to raising money for mosquito nets.

A few weeks later, I received a letter from Jacob inviting me to donate money for every goal his team made for the entire season.  The money raised would be used to purchase mosquito nets.

I was so moved by Jacob’s letter.  This is the end goal we envisioned when we wrote Red Card.  Children are active participants in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and children can make a difference!

Here’s a link to an article that appeared in today’s Denver Post  highlighting Jacob’s story.

Persecution: Kids VBS Resource

Voice of the Martyrs has a new Kids of Courage Vacation Bible school curriculum for kids ages 5–13.  Content conveys the struggles endured by persecuted Christians in age-appropriate ways – no graphic descriptions or scary photos. The emphasis is on the persecuted Christians’ courage, obedience, joy, and perseverance in following Christ.

Children will hear stories of real kids in five countries: Egypt, China, India, Nigeria, and North Korea. Activities encourage students to pray for believers who are suffering for the faith and offers suggestions for hands-on projects to help persecuted Christians around the world.

Although the curriculum is designed to be used in a 5-day VBS setting, some components can be adapted to other venues likes Sunday School, Christian school classes, homeschool co-ops, AWANA, and kids clubs. For an overview of lesson themes, full list of components, and sample activities, click here.

Interceding for the Global Persecuted Church

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is November 14. This year’s theme, “Hearing Their Cry,” is based on Psalm 10:17: “You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them and listen to their cry.”

Check out these free, downloadable resources to equip your family, class, or small group to learn about families and churches around the world who are persecuted for their faith and to remember them in prayer. Materials include a video, devotional, Bible passages about persecution, and children’s material.

Soap Saves Lives

OK, fess up. How many bars of hotel soap and little shampoo bottles reside in your bathroom cabinet? Maybe you’ll pack them next time you travel, but often, they collect dust. Could they be put to better use? What about the partially used toiletries you leave in the hotel room? Every day in North America, hotels discard millions of pounds of soap and little plastic bottles of shampoo. These products usually end up in landfills.

Meanwhile, millions of children around the world don’t have any soap at all – not one bar! According to clinical studies, the combination of bar soap and proper hygiene education can reduce the effects of acute respiratory illness (pneumonia) and diarrheal disease by up to 65%. Combined, these diseases are the leading causes of death amongst children under the age of 5, killing 3.5 million children annually (World Health Organization).

Wasting soap – no soap. What’s the solution? What if the partially used bars of soap that you leave behind in your hotel shower could be recycled and potentially save lives? Well, it’s happening. A non-profit group called Clean the World recycles old hotel soaps into new soap and shampoo for developing countries and homeless shelters in the United States.

How does it work? First, Clean the World collects and sorts discarded soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion product donations from participating hospitality partners. Hundreds of hotels and bed and breakfasts collect used soap for Clean the World. Manufacturers donate additional hygiene products. Next, in its Orlando, Florida lab, Clean the World cooks the soap in a process to remove impurities before reshaping it into 2-ounce bars. Then Clean the World, in conjunction with partner organizations, distributes recycled soap products, along with appropriate educational materials, to impoverished countries worldwide as well as homeless shelters in the United States.

For example, Clean the World partners with World Vision in their ongoing WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) program. With operations in more than 100 countries, World Vision has the on-the-ground capability to distribute the recycled soap and provide essential hygiene education where it is most needed.

Ways you can help?

• Check those bathroom cabinets. Maybe you have soap to donate.

• Do you know someone who runs a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast who could donate soap? Someone who works for a company that manufactures soap or shampoo? Let them know about Clean the World.

• Considering hosting a Million Bars of Soap for Hope drive in your community.

Get more details here.

Teaching Kids About Ramadan

Join millions of Christians worldwide in praying for the Muslim world August 11-September. 9. During this period, Muslims will observe of the fast of Ramadan. Here’s an easy way to involve children in your family, class, or club in interceding for Muslim kids around the world. The 30-Days Prayer Network produces a “Just for Kids” booklet for children and families with information on Muslim people groups in many countries, activities, and prayer points.To learn more about Ramadan, download Ramadan Basics in the “Free Stuff” section of Resources on our website.

If you’d like to introduce children to kids around the world who live in Muslim cultures, check out the Kids Around the World CD/DVD elementary sets. The series includes the following Muslim people groups: the Turks of Turkey, three Central Asian groups (Kazakhs, Tajiks, Uzbeks), the Malay of Southeast Asia, and two groups in Africa (Riffi Berbers and Fulani). Each DVD has a 5-10 minute video shot on site and narrated by children. CDs include activities on geography, flags, language, food, games, crafts, Bible lessons, and prayer activities for the specific people group.

Soccer Balls and Children at Risk

Leading up to the World Cup, a photographer named Jessica Hilltout, made a seven-month road trip throughout Africa She took pictures of children playing soccer on a variety of “fields” and collected homemade balls and stories from locals along the way. Here’s a poem from Jessica’s travels:

These words got me thinking. If I deleted the poem’s title and last line, the remaining phrases would describe the lives of millions children, not only in Africa, but around the world. It’s true that children don’t require much to be happy and that they seem to bounce back from adversity much easier than adults. It’s also true that harsh circumstances often make children stronger. This is where the similarity between soccer balls and children end. Soccer balls are created for the express purpose of being kicked around. Children are not. God created children in his own image and has harsh words for anyone who would abuse them or hinder them from becoming all that He intends.

For ideas on how you can take a stand for children at risk and provide God’s hope, check out Red Card Kids.

Orphan Sunday – November 7, 2010

Mark your calendars for Sunday, November 7, 2010 – National Orphan Sunday.

National Orphan Sunday is a time set aside to acknowledge and honor the 145 million orphaned children throughout the world. God is not silent about orphans. His care, compassion, and protection for them is seen throughout Scripture. More than 30 Old Testament passages attest to God as “defender of the fatherless.”

In partnership with Christian Alliance for Orphans, Stand4Kids encourages you to join with individuals and groups across America and beyond, to plan your own local Orphan Sunday activity. This is your opportunity to raise awareness for the needs of the orphan to your church, Bible study, home group, Christian school, and community:

At the Orphan Sunday website you will find everything you need to:

* Encourage your pastor to preach on a biblical theme related to orphans
* Plan a prayer time during your Sunday service
* Teach a Sunday school class on God’s heart for orphans
* Hold a concert or prayer event
* Help your small group study what the Bible says about orphans
* Read a book about orphans with your book club

Let us know if we can help!
Tami Snowden
Advocate for Children at Risk

“We have all been adopted into Christ’s royal family. Just as we cannot imagine the gospel without salvation, we cannot tolerate a Christianity that does not welcome the orphan into the family of Christ. On Orphan Sunday, join us to demonstrate the validity of the gospel through our love for the widow, the poor, and the orphan.” – Keith Swartley, Team Leader, Pioneers.

Simulate the Lives of Street Children

Monday July 19, 2010

Each week we receive wonderful feedback from people putting the Red Card Curriculum to use across the country. One Sunday school teacher just taught lesson 4, the one about street kids, and added a few things to enhance the learning of the children – equipping them to make a difference for children at risk throughout the world.

Lauri writes:

“Our lesson started off with the kids walking into our room which looked like a trash dump. Cardboard boxes, plastic bags, and crumpled paper were everywhere! They could barely find a place to sit. We talked about how uncomfortable we felt in this situation, but that this is how street kids live.

“I recommend buying ‘Dynamic Thunderstorm’ by Nature Sounds as background ‘music.’ It was awesome!!! And just 99 cents from iTunes.

“I recommend a spray bottle for water simulating rain.

“When the storm ended, they had to stay there, and we flicked the lights on and asked who would be comfortable sleeping like that all night. How would they feel if there was a storm and they had no home to go to, no family to care about them?

“We asked them, now…what would you want God to do for these street kids? What does God want you to do for these kids?”

Thanks, Lauri, for your feedback and additional tips for making this lesson more interactive.

If you have feedback or additional tips for Red Card lessons, contact us.

Tami Snowden
Advocate for Children at Risk

Bringing Hope Through Jesus

When we mobilize children (or even adults) to pray and take a stand for children who are poor, sick, abandoned, exploited, or forced to fend for themselves, it is easy for our students to get overwhelmed by the enormity of the issues. Statistics first produce a “deer in the headlights” response. This is often followed by a kind of paralysis –a reaction stemming from pure human reasoning–”I can’t begin to make a dent in the problem so I won’t do anything.”

Any lessons we teach should include the element of hope. Yes, the problems are too big for us to solve, but God is not asking us to solve them on our own. God is inviting us to partner with him to change the way things are. How does this partnership work? God provides power and authority, we act in faith. When I first saw this video, it reminded me that God asks us to bring hurting children to him, the author of transformation. He will do the rest. Watch it and pass it on. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Book Review: One Million Arrows

One Million Arrows, a new book by Julie Ferwerda, invites parents and mentors to think of children as arrows. The biblical concept of arrows comes straight from Psalm 127:4-5a: “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them …”

Created by God to penetrate their own culture and the world for Christ, children can leave a mark for eternity. This book includes ideas for raising children to change the world from parents who already have this God-sized vision for their sons and daughters. According to the author, “Being an arrow is a lot like signing up for Fear Factor. You know there’s going to be a lot of suspense, some fun and interesting challenges, some really hard mental and physical obstacles, and of course, plenty of fear as you’re stretched way out of your comfort zone.” Reaching beyond the family unit, One Million Arrows encourages the body of Christ to consider the latent potential of children at risk around the world. The author relates the vision that God gave M.A. “Papa” Thomas for serving the millions of overlooked children of India. “Gather one million broken branches – the native-born, orphaned, and abandoned children – sharpen them with education, faith, and a heart for the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), and launch them like arrows back into the regions of India that have never heard about Jesus. In fact, why limit it to India?”

Hmmm. This book starting me thinking …

• What are some ways I can hone arrows, even if I don’t homeschool my kids?
• How can God use my willingness to sponsor a child in poverty or partner with a Christian ministry that serves street children and orphans lead to a new generation of arrows who are strategically positioned to impact cultures and subcultures that I can’t?
• What other books and websites address this subject?

Check out this book. What do you think? Join the conversation.