Population of Dallas, Texas: 1.24 million people.
Number of orphans in the world: 132 million children who have lost 1 or both of their parents. 18 million who are double-orphaned (both parents lost).
Not all of those children need adoptive homes, but almost all of the FAMILIES and communities those children live in could use some sort of help...even if it's just someone to care and pray for them.
Every chapter starts with addressing an issue and includes facts and statistics, and ends with a list of how people can help. While everyone can't adopt a child, this book gives tasks that ANYONE CAN DO! Each chapter ends with how everyone can help, some can help, and few can help.
This books takes a look at a number of subjects related to orphans including...
- HIV/AIDs epidemic - How does this affect children worldwide?
- Orphanages - How orphanages fail children...and why the family is a better place to raise children. The book acknowledges that orphanages are not evil, but they just aren't the best place for children to grow up.
- Poverty- This chapter changed the way I view government aid like WIC, welfare, and medicaid.
- Foster care - As a foster mom, I cried like a baby during this chapter. Most people in this country don't realize there are foster children in almost every city. So many children are in the foster-care system, there is a great need for loving, Christ-following families to take these children into their homes. Some of these kids simply long for a place to safely live...a warm bed to sleep in...a quiet corner to read a book...a FAMILY TO LOVE THEM. You really don't have to be a perfect parent or have a perfect home to make a difference in a foster child's life.
- Racism, abortion, and the call of the church to care for orphans.
My Favorite Part:
This book is a quick and dirty call to action. It challenges us to make a difference in the lives of orphans and at-risk children. The application section of each chapter gives ways that ANYONE can help. For example in the foster care section:
- ANYONE - find a foster family in your church or community and ask how you can help them. Maybe just bring them a meal one day.
- MANY - You might consider doing respite care for a foster family.
- FEW- Become a foster family. (see my other blog about what this looks like).
Summary:
This book is a challenging glimpse into the plight of orphans worldwide, and a call-to-action for Christians to step up to the plate.
At the time I wrote this post, Barnes & Noble and Amazon had this book for sale (digital editions) for just $2.99. It's worth it!
