Faith, hope, and love have a way of multiplying.
This past Friday was one great example of that.
God took the small seed that was dreamed and multiplied it for His love for the orphan.
Some of our Frazer families were privileged to be a part of that phenomenon this past Friday, as they spent the afternoon with ten Ukrainian orphans who are visiting the United States for a few weeks this summer.
The children are in the United States as part of a ministry called Bridges of Faith, an organization that brings over adoptable orphans from the Ukraine in hopes of providing them experiences in the States they may never encounter and also offers them the potential forever connection with an American family.
On Friday, the ten children, ranging in age from 8-14, were going to be at the local Montgomery mall. Lynn, our ONEfamily Orphan Care Coordinator, started with the vision to provide each child one pair of shoes, an item we often take for granted, but one that many of these children had never been given. In order to see this happen, we needed to have ten families or people willing to assist with the costs.
In addition, Lynn hoped for the opportunity for them to go ice-skating at the indoor rink in the mall, but knew that it would be difficult to pull it off with the added expense.
On Wednesday, we only had three people committed to spending the afternoon with these children.
Praying for more help, an email was sent out to one of our Sunday School classes and to those that are on our ONEfamily Support list, explaining the needs for Friday afternoon.
Hope began to multiply as emails and calls came in.
Before we knew it, we had enough funds for each child to receive a new pair of tennis shoes. Even one of the department stores wanted to partner with us and graciously provided us a discount for each pair of shoes.
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| Though they didn't share the same language, one of the Ukrainian girls and Jade, one of our Frazer middle school students, still connected over an afternoon of shopping! |
In fact, when all was said and done, there were MORE than enough resources to go around. After each child had received their new gift, we still had one of our sweet families who wanted to join in on the giving. And as the Lord always so faithful does, He provided the right recipient. The interpreter from the Ukrainian orphanage had not had a new pair of shoes in a long time- so Friday she received a pair too!
But the afternoon didn't end there.
We hoped for ten pairs of shoes.
He provided.
We dreamed for them to experience a few hours on ice-skates.
He provided.
They LOVED it.
They saw the lights of the Carousel and their eyes opened wide.
He provided.
And they were able to ride the Carousel.
He multiplied our hope and our resources.
And it wasn't done!
Each child also received a Chick-fil-a kid's meal.
And a homemade cupcake made lovingly by one of our Frazer families.
The time at the mall had come to a close, and there was still money left.
He multiplies.
We were able to give the leaders with the Ukrainian children $50 to use toward a day trip to the beach this week, for drinks and sunscreen.
Though the children experienced new, material things on Friday, what was more important were the many, many love-filled hugs and smiles that they received.
Our prayer is that they left with a little more hope for their future.
Friday afternoon reminded us of this simple truth.
God always provides for the orphan. And in the process He opens our eyes to what He does when we are obedient to the Call to care for them.
It was a privilege to be a small part in the story God has for their lives.
We can't wait to see where God is calling us to next! We'd love for you to join us!
