My Orphan Sunday

South Tulsa Baptist church started our Orphan Care Ministry in the month of October.  We kicked it off by having a service focused on Orphan Care.  The idea was to let the church know of the great need that is out there in our city, state, country, and world!  We started the service with an experience.  The congregation was able to put themselves into the shoes of a 13yr old girl that is taken out of her home with her brothers and taken to a shelter and then taken to four different foster homes.  (Click here to see the video) Each person had an envelope with instructions and as they actually traveled to each “new home” they had house rules to read for each “new home”.  An average foster child will go to at least 4 different homes.  This experience really opens your eyes to what a child must go through and think when they are taken away from their home.  It really opened the eyes of our people.  

  

In Oklahoma right now there are over 9,000 children in OK DHS custody right now at no fault of their own.  There are approximately 65 children in our Tulsa County DHS Shelter awaiting family placement TODAY!  There are 325 older children who have had parental rights terminated and are awaiting adoption in Oklahoma.  Volunteers are needed for support at Laura Dester Shelter, for Holiday Hosting Shelter Children, for foster parents, respite care parents, and emergency care parents.  

Our Department of Human Services (DHS) has a new program called Host Homes.  A family/person can have a foster child over a holiday so that child does not have to spend the holiday at the shelter.  Or if the shelter is overcrowded they will call the host homes for the weekend.  Pick the child up on Friday and then take the child back on Sunday.  

To help with getting information of the great need to our people we had several organizations come and set up information booths to answer questions people might have before and after the service.  It has been said that once you know about something then you are responsible for that something.  What will you do about it?  That is the challenge.  What is the Lord asking you to do about the needs of Orphaned and abandoned children in your home town and around the world?  The Lord has commanded us to care for the orphans.  What does that look like for you?  What role will you take to care for orphans?

Alyson