Christian Alliance for Orphans

One Thursday in early February 2013, I found myself on the YMCA website searching out what programs they have to offer.  I desperately wanted to take advantage of our Y membership since we just don’t use it very often.  An upcoming bible study caught my attention that started the very next day.

I called my mom and asked her if she would like to go with me to do a Beth Moore study on Friday mornings.  I picked her up the next morning and we attended our first class where we met several very sweet ladies.  Each week we would watch the video of Beth Moore, talk for an hour or so after, then go shopping or have lunch.  It was a small and intimate class, so there were a lot of personal sharing going on.

One of the gals in the class told us that she and her husband were in the process of adopting a daughter from China.  Each week she would share with us their progress with the lengthy paperwork and how they were cutting through some of the red tape.  One morning I really felt compelled to share our vision of Jamaica with her.  She was excited and told me about the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit - an international conference for orphan care ministry that would be coming to Nashville, Tennessee at the beginning of May.

I looked up the website for CAFO and talked to Bruce about it.  But really? This is probably way over our heads.  We don’t intend to really and actually do this....do we?  The Holy Spirit bugged me about it so much and so often and through so many ways and means (a few of which I've shared on this blog), that I finally booked our tickets and reserved our hotel room just a few days before the event.

The conference was AMAZING!  As soon as we walked in, we knew that we were in the right place.  More than 2500 people were in attendance from 49 states and 25 countries.  Wow.  We learned about starting an orphan care ministry, how to advertise and use media effectively, how to efficiently lead mission teams, who to partner with for clothing, education, fundraising, adoption and so much more!  We made connections that we could not have found anyplace else.  And we came home from that weekend full of information, ideas, and excitement that would carry us through the next weeks and months.

So many people from all over the world shared their stories of being orphaned, of being adopted, of having adopted children and blended families.  The emcee for the conference was Peder Eide, a praise and worship leader from Minnesota. He and his wife, Sherri have two adopted children along with their own biological three. He added so much to our experience at CAFO.  We really fell in love with his heart for orphan care ministry and his fun filled, humorous spirit.

Just one of the many highlights for us, though, was when Family Life Radio interviewed Bishop WC Martin from Possum Trot, Texas, the pastor who we had read about in Guideposts a couple of months earlier.  Bishop Martin and his church have adopted 76 children out of foster care in their little town of only 600 people. (Where is Possum Trot, you ask?  Oh, it's just south of Coonville....of course!)  When he walked out on stage, we took that as a definite sign that God wanted us to see.  If they can do it, then what’s stopping us?