Team Leader Tuesday Spotlight: Elisa Hyman

Summer of 2011, that’s when my life was changed.  As an adoptive parent, I frequented adoption group gatherings. It was there that I met a fellow adoptive parent that had an entire wardrobe of fundraising t-shirts and always wore the infamous paper bead necklaces. Her Facebook feed was full of videos and photos of her in Africa loving on children. I was intrigued. She was a Visiting Orphans team leader.

I traveled on my first mission trip to Uganda with her. I never thought someone like me could go on a mission trip. I seriously thought mission trips were reserved for bible students and “those” crazy Christians that gave everything away and lived in a bush. I didn’t realize that someone like me, a mom of young kids who had NO memory verses in my vocabulary, could go on a mission trip. I was intimidated at first. I thought all of my team members would be early versions of Mother Theresa. Ha...it’s funny to think back on. It was that summer, while walking in the red Ugandan dirt, that I felt the Spirit of God telling me, “this is it...this is your home.”  

What do you mean “this is my home?”  My husband is in the military and I have small kids. I didn’t know what the big, full picture looked like, but I began the steps toward following that calling. I attended Visiting Orphans Leadership Training and led my first team in the summer of 2012. All the pieces of my life started to make sense.  

In my mid-thirties, I began to see the blurry puzzle start to form a picture. I realized that everything, EVERYTHING led me to THIS! Being a teacher, working for a non-profit, owning a business, learning about off grid living, being an adoptive parent...they all prepared me for my current ministry...leading Visiting Orphan teams!

Without a shadow of doubt, I know that leading teams to Uganda is EXACTLY where He wants me. Getting people there, and to experience life change is what I was put here to do. Ministering to my team before, during and after a trip is my passion. “What’s next?” is something I often ask my team members.  “How is God using this experience in you?”  

I smile when my team members get it, when God begins to work in their hearts. I praise Him when they too hear a call on their lives. There is always something next, and for everyone it’s different. But being obedient in that is what is key. Going is the first step. Getting people there...that is my calling!

127 Campaign Week 2 - Impact Area #2

We are entering week 2 of our 127 Campaign. This week's Impact Area is a Discipleship Training Curriculum for our team members. We have a great resource we're already using for pre-trip preparation and discipleship but we want to customize it even further to prepare team members for the specific mission of our trips.

Check out Impact Area #2 and then get involved at 127Campaign.org

THROW BACK THURSDAY - Ethiopia/Rwanda January 2011 Team

Throw Back Thursday to the first team that VO staffer Frank Pass ever led to Ethiopia and Rwanda way back in January of 2011. This zany bunch personified what it means to be world changers. Of the 13 team members, 12 have traveled back to Africa since. Billy, Jason, Glenn and Daria are now VO team leaders. Jason and Glenn are also recent VO board member additions. Amy, Chelsea, and Sara have gone back to Rwanda with their own ministries His Chase and Presence to provide sponsorship, education, medical care and hope to hundreds of children. Tara started No.41 a ministry that is literally changing lives one at a time. This team changed Africa and Africa changed them. What a great example of how short-term missions can have long-term impact on those who go and to the places they are sent. Check out our 127campaign to see how you can supportVisiting Orphans and be a world changer too. Go Be Love!

Jan 2011 Ethiopia & Rwanda Team of World Changers!

Why Go? Wednesday Spotlight: Teresa Best

Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words.

- Isaiah 28:23


Each year, Visiting Orphans assists hundreds of individuals seeking the opportunity to sow into the lives of orphans, children and communities and those who routinely care for them. However, as each participant returns - something special happens. Not only do they sense the power of God’s love for his people, they also have an overwhelming sense of change and transformation in their own life.

Often times, great change seems overwhelming or impossible especially when one only considers their might and strength. However, as Teresa Best experienced, God can do so much more when one’s faith is applied.

Teresa had just returned from Guatemala when she heard God call her to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The closeness of the two trips placed fear in her heart. The challenge for Teresa was not the mission itself, but her capacity to pour into additional lives after the previous mission trip.

“How was I ever going to be able to go to another country and share as much of myself somewhere else when I was already so connected to this small space in Central America”, said Teresa.

However, she continued to hear God’s voice, so she decided to go.

Upon arriving to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, her heart was filled with compassion and love. She was all the more grateful she listened to the voice of God.

The Lord showed her there was no need to be afraid. “He showed me that love multiplies and spills over! Yes, your heart can have room. And yes, you can find small ways to invest. Even when you are a world apart”, she rejoiced.

Now that she has returned, Teresa is looking forward to the many ways God can use her in the future.

Teresa traveled with Visiting Orphans to Ethiopia in Jan 2014

127 Campaign

Today is the official launch of our Visiting Orphans 127 Campaign.

The 1 in the 127 Campaign represents 1 person - YOU! You can be a world changer. How? By being part of our 127 Campaign and financially supporting the ministry Visiting Orphans is doing around the world and by challenging others to do the same.

The 127 Campaign is our first ever big fundraiser for Visiting Orphans. Visiting Orphans (VO) was established in 2005 and has been supported by an admin fee that is built into the trip cost of our trips ever since. That's how we are able to partner with 43 ministries in 12 countries and send out over 40 teams throughout the year to come alongside and support these ministries. We've not received grants nor have we had major donors up to this point. We do raise some funds to operate the ministry through merchandise sales, and we have some wonderful monthly donors and get some general donations to VO as a ministry from time to time - all of which are a huge blessing. But most of our budget is funded by that trip admin fee. We will continue to be primarily funded in this way but the thing about relying solely on this is that it limits us from growing and expanding into the areas we feel like God is calling us to. This campaign is all about raising funds for Visiting Orphans as a ministry so that we can bring those things to life. And ultimately make a bigger, more positive impact on the 2 in the 127 Campaign: those we partner with around the world and those we send! 

We've chosen 7 areas of impact for this campaign - these are the things that we feel like God is calling us to for this next season. This campaign will support these 7 areas. 10% of all funds raised during this campaign will go to specific ministry needs for 7 of our partner ministries around the world.

You can get involved at: 127campaign.org

Here are the 7 Impact Areas for the 127 Campaign

Country Programs

Visiting Orphans currently partners with ministries in 12 countries around the world. We want to continue to invest in our current partnerships while also creating new opportunities with other trustworthy organizations in these countries.

Discipleship Materials

So we can better prepare our teams spiritually, we want to create brand new team member discipleship training curriculum and videos that are tailored to the mission experience such as pre-trip preparation, in-country devotionals, and post-trip processing.

Web Portal

Visiting Orphans would like to create our own interactive web portal designed exclusively for team members and leaders. This new portal will help assist and organize our short-term trips for a more streamlined process all within the current visitingorphans.org website.

Adoptive Family Resources

We love to see families grow through the miracle of adoption. We also recognize that the process can be very difficult. We want to develop supportive resources and create grant organization partnerships to offer financial help to past team members who are adopting.

Healing Conferences

Through partnerships with counseling ministries, advocates, and teachers, we want to come alongside foster and adoptive parents in their emotional and spiritual struggles while offering tangible support via conferences focused on healing and transformation.

New Country Programs

We are committed to reaching even more of God’s precious children and communities in more places around the world. That’s why we are currently developing two new country programs for 2015 and desire to explore more programs for 2016 and beyond.

A recommendation from someone with firsthand experience who is passionate and committed to the mission is an invaluable tool for any ministry. And that’s exactly what we’re looking for in our brand new adVOcate Program. We want you to use your avenue for advocacy to spread the news about VO. That could be through concerts, social media, blogging, church groups, or whatever else you may have up your sleeve. We would love to have you join our adVOcate team!

Each week, we will highlight one of these 7 areas in a video to explain even further what we mean. Here's Impact Area #1:

Visiting Orphans is a 501(c)3 public charity which seeks to operate under the highest standards of financial accountability and excellence. We are audited by an independent accounting firm each year, ECFA accredited and governed by a Board of Directors. All charitable donations to Visiting Orphans are tax-deductible within the United States. 

Huge BLOWOUT Sale

The Visiting Orphans staff are moving out of our current offices and will all be working from home starting July 25th. We are selling almost all our office furniture and we're trying to move as much merchandise as possible. SO... we are having a huge blowout sale. Everything is marked down already and between now and July 15th, you'll get an additional 50% OFF everything with promo code: BLOWOUT. Shop now on our online store and save big!

Happy Valentine's Day!

In honor of "Love" month - we're running a special promotion for mission trips. We've never done this before but we want to love on all of those who sign up to GO BE LOVE so....
Every new sign up for a 2014 VO Mission Trip between now and February 28th automatically gets $100 off their total trip cost. Refer a friend to sign up by Feb 28, they get $100 off plus you get ANOTHER $100 off for referring them. It's a win - win!

We have over 35 trips already on the calendar for this year and we would love for YOU to join us on a life-changing adventure to one (or two - we have some combo trips) of the 12 countries we visit.

For a complete list of all the upcoming trips and the details about each, click here.