Dan and I had the
opportunity to attend a banquet last Saturday evening for Forgotten Children
Worldwide, which is based in Bluffton, Indiana.
If you are ever looking for a worthwhile organization to donate to or become
involved with, this is the one. They
have an amazing ministry to orphans all around the world and I love their
approach to making a difference. On
their website at www.forgottenchildren.org
they state:
Forgotten Children Worldwide
empowers natives to care for their own children. We do not believe in building
American orphan care ministries, but coming alongside those that already exist
and helping them do what they do better. We work with ministries around the
world, providing practical resources, help and guidance. We partner with
ministries who share a similar vision for orphan care. In every situation, FCW
comes alongside an established team with physical, financial and human
resources, encouragement, prayer and training. At our core, we want our partner
ministries to become self-sufficient and self-sustainable. Ultimately, we
strive for the day when they will not need our guidance and our support. We
believe strongly in holistic care and work on improving the care that all
children receive. In the end, we work to:
1. Safeguard and lift children from extreme
poverty
2. Prevent child trafficking
3. Give children hope by introducing them to
Jesus Christ
This is a ministry making a difference not only in the lives of
these children…but in eternity!
The guest speaker at the banquet was George Dennehy. He was born without any arms and was
immediately placed in a Romanian orphanage because his parents just couldn’t
handle his disability. Those working in the
orphanage thought he was cursed and so he was grossly neglected. Fortunately, there was a couple in the United
States who felt led to adopt a child who no one else wanted…and that led them
to George. At the age of 2 ½, he weighed
nine pounds. This couple took him in and
loved him back to health.
By the age of eight, George learned to play the cello using his
feet. He advanced in classical music until he was able to play cello with
regional orchestras. With the cello as his launching pad he has taught himself
guitar, electric bass and basic piano. I
sat in amazement Saturday night as he sang and played the guitar for us. What a testimony he has of what God can do regardless
of our circumstances.
Since that night, I’ve thought about my “take-aways” from what I
heard and witnessed. First of all, I was
reminded of what can be accomplished when we are willing to follow God’s
leading and just say “YES”. Forgotten
Children Worldwide began because there was a couple who, in 1999, went to
Moscow to adopt a daughter and realized the enormous need there was to help
millions of orphans around the world. They
knew they had to do something but had no clue where to begin. In 2000, Forgotten Children Worldwide began
as God Will Make a Way Ministries. They had no idea what they were doing and
had no idea where God was going to take them. They didn’t even have a building.
The only thing they were armed with was their faith and trust in God and their
willingness to say “YES”.
Now, 17 years later, this ministry is having a huge impact all
over the world. I urge you to check out
their website.
Secondly, I was reminded that no matter what we have been dealt
in life, God is bigger. Our limitations
are just that…OUR limitations. But with
God, we have no limitations. He is able
to do far more than we can ever imagine with whatever we have been given. A physical disability, an abusive past, a
dysfunctional family, a lack of funds, or a lack of education won’t keep God
from being able to work in us and through us for His glory. Again, all He needs from us is our “YES”, and
He will give us everything we need to do whatever He asks of us.
Third, I was reminded that everyone can do something to have an
impact on those less fortunate. Maybe we
can’t travel to India to physically touch and help the orphans…but we can
financially support those who can. Maybe
our funds are very limited and we can’t give monetarily at this time…but we can
donate some of our time to help an organization like Forgotten Children or a
local pregnancy center. Maybe we aren’t
able to give some of our time to help locally…but we can spend time in fervent
prayer for those who can. Everyone can
do something to make a difference…all God needs is our “YES”.
I don’t know what God is asking you to do today to make a
difference in the lives of those in your community, state, country or
world…whatever it is…remember that all things are possible. All He needs is your “YES”!
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