These are the pictures of awesome.
These are women who have the awesome task of caring for little people who need caring for. Through something so simple, so basic, so ordinary, washing their hands and painting their nails, they were shown that they are extraordinary and inspiring and so very awesome.
We think the message was well received.
We believe we learn best who we are and how the world works through our experience of relationships. That’s what our orphanage efforts are all about—building relationships and seeking opportunities to magnify those already there.
Tomorrow morning, our team once again will step out of their own comfort zones and go. They’re all a bit crazy today as they cross tasks off to-do lists and hope for something supernatural to happen as they try to fit a few more things into their luggage. They’re going with full bags and full hearts. The team is offering some medical training which the orphanage administrators specifically requested. They’re also offering the workshop we’ve done in other places that our friends at the Fred Rogers Center have equipped us to do, an interactive community experience designed to encourage, enrich, and empower interactions between children and their helpers. But, most important, each member of this team is going ready to serve children in the best way we know how—through loving well those who care for them day in and day out.
The orphanage work we get to do is for every person there. We want to tell each one of them—little one and grownups alike—that they matter, that they are valuable, and that someone outside themselves is for them.
Be watching our social media posts for glimpses of it.
It’s been formally celebrated in China for over 1,000 years, though some say people celebrated it informally thousands of years before that even. Full of legends and lanterns and big full moons, it’s the second most important holiday in China behind Spring Festival, the holiday we Westerners call Chinese New Year.
As turkeys are to Thanksgiving, so mooncakes are to Mid-Autumn Festival. It’s an essential part of the celebration to make them and give them. And, this orphanage made that happen.
With one Ayi paired up with one child and aprons and chef hats on, the mooncakes were made, complete with some sort of bean paste inside and designs on top.
But, there’s something about them that wasn’t experienced in this place the way it is supposed to be. Many cookies and cakes are round; it’s true. But, there’s more to why mooncakes are round; the Mandarin word for round sounds like the Mandarin word for reunion. And, reunions are the most wonderful part of Mid-Autumn Festival. Families come together.
There were people who came to visit–a local teacher, a retired man who used “his pocket money” to bring the children gifts, others to be kind to the children. It was good. And, giving the visitors the mooncakes he made was good too. Enjoying songs and a big meal later that day with his foster family was also good.
But, it’s not family the way family should be. He’s still waiting for them. And, maybe–just maybe–next Mid-Autumn Festival can be shared in a reunion like none other, a reunion with a family who gives him their name and tells him that with them is where he belongs. That’s the wish he’s making this Mid-Autumn Festival.
Interested in learning more about this little 10-year-old chef? He is a waiting child with congenital heart disease who is currently available for adoption through Madison, a good agency which is offering a $1,000 agency grant to the family who wants to make him their son. Contact info@sparrowfund.org or Sarah at Madison to hear more about him and what is required to bring him home.
When we go, we go with full hands. Giving gifts isn’t all we are about as we care for caregivers in orphanages, but it really does matter because it communicates that they matter…and they really really do. We want our next trip to be no different as our team heads East to a small orphanage in 4 weeks. And, we need your help to do it.
We want to give each nanny there what we’re calling a Care Kit. In a custom designed, expertly handmade fabric bag, each Care Kit comes with a sugar scrub to care for tired hands, a quick-dry nail polish to remind the wearer how beautiful she is, and a sweet smelling lotion to keep her hands soft at the end of a long day. But, what makes the Care Kits most impactful is that the first time they will be used will be with us as we sit across from each nanny with a tub of hot water before us, and we wash her hands.
We are inviting you—asking you—to be a part of this with us by becoming a Care Kit sponsor for $25, covering the cost to care for one who cares for many. We want every single one of the women who give of themselves everyday to receive this gift. Help us make sure that happens.
To become a sponsor, click on Donate select “orphan care efforts” from the drop down menu of options. You can add “Care Kit Sponsorship” in the notes field.
We can’t wait to have you join us in this.
Since the start, God has used our annual marriage retreat Together Called in remarkable ways that only He can do to meet each one of us right where we are. After 8 years of this thing, we are no longer surprised by it; we come with expectation of it.
Together Called may still be 7 months away, but our leadership team is already filled with great expectation for every husband and wife who will join us there as well as for ourselves. Of course we are. We trust you will be too when you hear about who is joining us this time as our keynote speaker and our worship leaders.
We have been longtime fans of our keynote speaker Curt Thompson. Curt Thompson, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice in Falls Church, Virginia, and the author of two of our favorite books, The Soul of Shame and Anatomy of the Soul. With an expertise in integrating psychiatry, how we are wired, and spiritual formation, Curt often speaks with the desire to provide opportunities to reflect on, understand, and experience their faith in fresh, trustworthy ways. Leaders in the adoption community have recognized how much he has to offer families with children who have had hard starts and caregivers who may have come from hard starts themselves. He has taught and served as a resource for foster and adoptive families through organizations such as CAFO, Empowered to Connect, Tapestry, Show Hope, and the National Council for Adoption. In addition to all his professional work, Curt serves as an elder at Washington Community Fellowship, a Mennonite church in Washington, DC. He and his wife Phyllis, who we are delighted to have join us with him, are the parents of two grown children.
We’ve also been fans of our worship leaders Ross and Staci King since they joined us at Together Called 2016. Ross and Staci have been married since 1998 and have been making music together even longer than that. They met in 1997 when they were both a part of the Breakaway Ministries worship team at Texas A&M, quickly fell in love, and sealed the deal. In the 20-plus years they’ve been together, they planted a church, adopted 4 kids, traveled the country leading worship and doing concerts, and have had plenty of adventures. They currently live just south of Nashville, TN where Staci homeschools their children and Ross continues his career writing songs, producing music in his studio, and leading worship. They feel together called to help regular people have honest conversations about real things. And, since they still love singing together and do so as often as they can, we are thrilled to have them back for their third Together Called.
Now aren’t you filled with great expectation too?
Registration for Together Called 2020 will open in early October. Make sure you join our mailing list to be reminded of it. But, we need corporate and/or personal sponsors in place to make it happen. If you own a business and are interested in caring for caregivers with us or want to be a part of supporting foster care and adoption by supporting the moms and dads in it, email us. We’d love to tell you more about why we need you and what sponsorship looks like.
We like good books. And, there are a lot of them out there for grown ups and for children, books that don’t just educate but books that say in one way or another that we matter to each other and offer ways to practice that mattering.
When we found Meek and Brittany and their shop, Redirected Wood Co., we knew they were the right people to help us help others by designing and building something special so that we could share some of those good books with our people and encourage them to share too.
This week, after a long time of idea sharing and putting heads together, we now a little free library outside our office. We’ve stocked it with books for foster and adoptive families that remind us of the importance of relationship and help us build healthy ones. We’re excited to have our first contributions to the library leave with families. (We may be a little too excited to see who our first taker will be!). And, we look forward to seeing what new titles appear in there as friends add books to share with other families. Sharing is so fun.
Make sure you check out Redirected Wood Co. Brittany and Meek are skilled and creative, using sustainably sourced and reclaimed materials to build remarkable custom pieces like live edge tables and custom cabinets. They have big hearts and dreams to use their business to provide opportunity for kids aging out of foster care to not only learn a trade to be able to successfully earn a living but be redirected in the context of relationship as they learn that they really do matter and can create and do beautiful things.
On November 22nd, a film we’ve been long waiting for, a movie billed as a “timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism” arrives.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as the hero Mr. Rogers, is a true story of friendship–Fred’s friendship with Esquire journalist Tom Junod (called Lloyd Vogel in the film). In 1998, Tom was given the assignment of writing a profile of Mr. Rogers for a special magazine issue on American heroes. With a bit of an edge and a reputation for controversy, Tom wasn’t sure it would be the best fit. Not surprising, what evolved was an unlikely yet entirely unsurprising friendship between them. As Junod later said, “Once I sort of got in his sights, I think he was looking to minister to me.” This new movie tells the story.
It’s no secret that we’re big Fred Rogers fans around here. We’re marking our calendars now.
We are a team eager to go deeper in how we serve families. As of today, we are doing that in a big way. Today marks the start of Sparrow Family Services, specialized child and family therapeutic services for foster and adoptive families provided by our cofounder and codirector Kelly Raudenbush and supported by our team.
Kelly has practiced at the Attachment & Bonding Center of PA for the past 4 years with Cheryl Nitz, ACSW, LCSW, well known for her expertise in trauma and attachment and service to families and professionals from all over the country. We are excited to now have Kelly bring together her leadership skills and experience with her clinical practice and experience to continue to serve families in significant ways through The Sparrow Fund.
Please click HERE to read more about the vision of Sparrow Family Services and HERE to read answers to what we anticipate to be the most frequently asked questions about our new services.
We look forward to caring for caregivers in deeper and deeper ways!
Families adopting internationally aren’t the only ones who need a little extra support like what we offer through our Sparrow Services grants. We realize that families adopting children here in the United States either privately or through foster care/social services could benefit from what have to offer too. The support for them may look a little different, but that’s what our support is about–meeting each family where they are and customizing what support we give based on their needs.
As of July 1st when our Sparrow Services grant application window opens again, we are encouraging families adopting internationally or domestically to apply. We can’t wait to see who we get to serve next.
Wanna learn more about what a Sparrow Services grant includes and how to apply? Click HERE to learn more.
How do you measure the success of an event? We’re not sure.
But, what we are sure of is this.
Laughter heals so many hurts.
Being together in safety crushes feelings of isolation and helps us to know we’re not alone.
And, closeness with the one who is exclusively our own increases our capacity for pretty much everything.
When asked to share one thing they would not changed from Together Called 2019 as we dream towards Together Called 2020, here’s how a few couples responded:
All of it? 😉 My biggest take-away from our first time at Together Called was that this is an incredible community of humble servants. The overall atmosphere, including all of our interactions with everyone we met, had this general sense of humility, open, and honest conversation, and a desire to always be learning and growing in an effort to better serve God through serving our families.
We came in exhausted from “the battle.” We left so refreshed.
There is something about this event that feels so special and like a real retreat not just a conference. The heart behind Together Called is so evident.
We don’t know how best to measure the success of an event, but we truly believe that Together Called 2019 was one.
Together Called 2020 is already booked for March 13th-15th. Put the dates on your calendars now. We’d love to have you join us there.
