“It’s So VO”

Moments like this happen in 13 countries around the world thanks to the people who say, "Yes.”

Kari Hamilton

"This is all I need.... This is all they need. To be touched, hugged, kissed and loved.”

Simply Love Trip

Ethiopia & Uganda

June 2012

God Wins

We received an amazing story of how one man went on a mission trip, told and submitted his story… and won a contest!  With no hesitation, Don Henry sent us the story of how GOD WINS.  God prevails…

“Amanda,

I just wanted to share this with you. I am amazed at God’s blessings.  I shared my story of our trip, briefly with my coworkers, it was forwarded on to state and later to national, and I was so surprised to win the national competition for human interest stories by our employee organization.  So I won a trip to Boise Idaho in August.  Not sure if I can go, due to limited leave time, but I just wanted to share with you.  To God be the glory.  I still pray fervently, as I know you do for those precious people we encountered, and even now it brings tears to my eyes.  God is so very, very good.” 

--Don Henry

My Trip to Africa 2011/Don Henry, CED Delaware County, Ohio

Early last summer I was surfing the web and came across an article about orphans that caught my eye.  The article was written by a former orphan who had a heart for the 147 million orphans worldwide & had started a ministry to increase awareness of this tragic reality.  They offered the opportunity to go and visit orphans with the scriptural theme of James 1:27 which admonishes us to go & visit orphans and widows.  I thought to myself, I could do that, in fact, I should do that.  So I filled out the application online at Visiting Orphans (www.visitingorphans.org) and hit the send button.

In just a few weeks I found myself on a 777 Ethiopia Airlines jet headed for a 15 day adventure in Uganda & Ethiopia.  It was no ordinary adventure as this trip was called the “Man Up to Protect & Love the Fatherless Trip”.  It was the first group that Visiting Orphans has ever sent that was mostly men.  Our goal was to simply love on orphans.  I was unprepared to see the extreme poverty there but I was taken in by the beauty of the people and landscape of these countries.  We visited 7 orphanages and 2 prisons.  Many orphaned children end up in prison being unjustly accused or abused and have no one to defend them so they are stuck there for many years.  A ministry we worked with called 60 feet (www.sixtyfeet.org) is working to improve prison conditions for these children, helping place them in a family setting or to provide education to give these kids a future and hope.

There are 43 million orphans in Africa, many orphaned by the aids epidemic and other diseases while many others are orphaned due to civil unrest.  I have such admiration to those who have given their lives and put feet to their vision to help the fatherless.  In almost every situation it was one person who started an orphanage and they were nationals who had compassion for their own people.  We were there to come along side and provide support.

I have so many wonderful memories of spending time with these beautiful children.  I was always surrounded by kids just wanting a hug, to be held or to spend time with a father figure.  That was the biggest joy of my trip.

        

We also spent time in the village of Korah, located literally at the city dump in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, where the unwanted lived.  Many lepers and their families, and many widows and orphans as a result of aids in their families, lived here in deplorable conditions, finding their food by digging in the dump.  It was most heartbreaking to see the children and women searching for scraps with the vultures, wild dogs & hyenas.  

We were able to do some home improvement projects here as well as feed the children goat stew.  This place literally broke my heart and it is my privilege to sponsor a child here through the ministry of Project 61 (www.p61.org).  

I enjoyed seeing the agriculture of Uganda & Ethiopia as well.  We saw large fields of egg plant, tea bushes, sugar cane, pineapple and bananas as well as multi-acre buildings housing roses.  Most work in these countries is done by hand.  Beef cattle and goats were everywhere as well as donkeys used for transporting goods.

We also visited a village in the bush called Chuko where 80% of the deaths are from drinking contaminated water (see photo).  1 in 5 children do not survive to age 6.  They simply need good drinking water and we were involved with a project which is drilling a water well in this area that will serve four villages.  If interested in helping with this project visit Glimmer of Hope (www.aglimmerofhope.org). 

I would encourage you to take a trip with Visiting Orphans.  It will change your life, expand your worldview, help you realize just how very blessed we are, and challenge you to do something to help others.  I’m thankful for this experience and I know I will never be the same.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at quaker5@redbird.net.

  

NASCOE Publicity Contest Announcement

Dear Contestants,

Thank you for participating in the NASCOE Publicity Contest. Your dedication and the hard work you have put forth in the promotion of NASCOE through publicity is to the betterment of all members. It is a commitment of your time and talents that are greatly appreciated by the Officers, Area Executives and Committee Chairs.

The judging results are now in and I am proud to announce the winners for the 2011/2012 year. As with any contest, there can be only one winner in each category but let me make it clear that all submitted newsletters, feature story articles and websites were fantastic to see and review. The scoring and judging in all areas was extremely close, a testament of the quality of the items submitted. This is a compliment to each winner.

The Winners in the Publicity Contest are:

            Best Newsletter Renee Boykin, South Carolina

            Best Single Issue South Carolina Spring and Summer Issues, Renee Boykin, Editor

            Best Website Aaron Moore, Wisconsin

            Best Feature Story Human Interest Don Henry, Ohio-”My Trip to Africa”

            Best Feature Story Humor David Stromer, Iowa-“Wedding: A Fathers Point of View”

Congratulations to all the winners! And a Big THANK YOU to all of this years participants and judges. Your time committed to NASCOE Publicity is greatly appreciated.

I look forward to seeing you at the National Convention in Boise, Idaho!

Tammy Eibey

NASCOE Publicity Chairperson

Following Him by Faith- La Providencia Summit

Friday, March 9, 2012

La Providencia Summit

Well, I made it back from Honduras. For those of you following me on Facebook, you know it wasn't the smoothest of travel days. After spending about 5 hours in the San Pedro Sula airport I found out my flight was cancelled. They told us to go pick up our luggage and then get in line at the ticket counter to rebook for the following day. So I stayed an extra night in Honduras. Then after arriving in Miami I found out my 2nd flight was delayed due to mechanical difficulties as well. I was ready to get home but glad they were discovering the mechanical difficulties before we flew and not during our flight. :)
My time in Honduras was good. It was tiring and mentally challenging, but it was good. The premise of the Summit was to unite the people that are sending teams to La Providencia this summer. Their vision was for us to work together with the LP staff and community leaders to have our teams be as collaborative, productive and life-giving as possible. A lot of our discussion was based on the books, "When Helping Hurts" and "Toxic Charity". This discussion, at times, was so exhausting because it isn't easy. There isn't a simple solution. The easy thing is for us to swoop in with our American mind-sets and think that we know best. But that isn't helpful, it can be damaging. At Visiting Orphans, we spend a lot of time thinking and praying about these issues. It was encouraging to meet with other people from across the country that have similar goals and to exchange ideas.
A couple of the main ideas that we kept coming back to was:

• Not doing for others what they have the potential to do themselves. We talked a lot about self-suffiency vs dependency. We also talked about the importance of encouraging and empowering, not just offering hand-outs
• Teams need to realize that they're not just there to help, they are also there to learn. It's all about an EXCHANGE. 

I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this group. And am excited about our partnership with Providence World Ministries. If you haven't already, please take a minute to check out their website. They are taking an innovative approach to orphan and widow care. 

And last but not least, we have TWO opportunities this summer for you to join a team to visit La Providencia. Check out the information below and if you have any questions let me know!

• June 8-15, 2012- Honduras trip
• July 28- August 7, 2012- El Salvador/Honduras combo trip

~Casi Mattox

Central/South America Trip Coordinator

Haiti earthquake did not affect our team

In case some of you heard about a small earthquake in Port au Prince yesterday, wanted to put your minds at ease that our team in Jacmel is safe and sound. I texted Emilee last night as soon as I heard and I think the team was already asleep. She wrote me on facebook this morning with a brief update:

Good morning Autumn! We are all safe and sound here in Haiti. We actually didn't know about the earthquake until this morning. One of the Hands and Feet staff members is in PAP this morning so he will see if there is any damage to the airport or roads we'll need to use to leave. We are not aware of any damage here in Jacmel or surrounding areas but will let you know if we hear of anything that could impede travel home.

We are having a great time and can't wait to share our stories and pics. Please update the VO blog as family members and friends are following that for team info. Thank you!!

From those I know in PAP, it doesn't sound like the earthquake did much damage so I don't forsee any issues with them getting home. But we will continue to pray and I will update y'all with any news I get.

I cannot wait to hear their stories. Sounds like they are having an amazing time with the kids and staff there.

- Autumn

Update from our Haiti team

Hello from Haiti!!
written by team leader Emilee Owens


Since we got in late last night we were able to use the computer today. Just wanted to let you know we are here at the orphanage and doing well. Caroline has a bad headache but other than that everyone is doing fine. It is really hot and humid and the sun is quite intense. Our showers are cold so that is one way for us to cool off.


So far the team has been able to sort out our donations, craft supplies and sports equipment this morning. We also got a tour of the campus and met the house mothers, nannies and children that are not at school today. The babies and toddlers have already taken to the team and don't want to be put down. Several of the staff and some of the older kids speak english so we are able to communicate. Right now we have split up into groups to work on different projects they need our help with. The team is busy painting walls, decorating childrens' lockers, cleaning a newly constructed bedroom and sewing curtains. We will work on these projects most of the week, take the toddlers to the beach on Thursday then take two field trips on Saturday: one to a historic fort and one to the beach. The Saturday field trips are reserved for kids who did well with grades this week.



More updates to come after they get home as they will likely not have any further internet access during their time there. Please be praying for them. I can't wait to hear all of their stories!

Haiti Hands & Feet Team

Just heard from our Haiti team leader, Emilee Owens, that the team made it safely to Haiti and is now en route to the orphanage. This team gets to spend the week with Hands & Feet Project loving on some very precious children. While they won't have much internet access to be able to update blogs, etc. - I have no doubt they will have an amazing, life-changing trip. I will post whenever I hear anything from them via text but they might not get to update me very much either. So if you don't hear from them this week, I am quite sure we'll have lots of stories and updates once they get back to a spot with internet. In the meantime, they get to unplug from life back home and GO BE LOVE to the sweet kiddos at Hands & Feet Project.

- written by Autumn Kerr

What GO. BE. LOVE. means

What does it really mean to GO. BE. LOVE.?

GO: get outside your comfort zone and go do what the bible calls us to do. In James 1:27, we're specifically called to visit orphans and widows. That's why Visiting Orphans exists. And that's why not only do I work for this ministry but I believe whole heartedly in the biblical implications of it.

BE: Be the hands and feet of Jesus. He commissioned us to go so that He could work through us to reach the nations, our communities, our world. It is a honor. We GET to be used by the God of the Universe to reach a lost world and to love on those the bible calls "the least of these". I don't take that lightly.

LOVE: God IS love. And part of being a disciple of Jesus is looking more and more like Him. This requires a willingness to die to ourselves and be conformed to the likeness of Christ. Jesus didn't sit back and stay where it was comfortable. He got out there and loved those that society considered unloveable. And we're called to do that too.

So my challenge to you today is this: Are you ready to GO. BE. LOVE.? If so, we invite you to join Visiting Orphans. We have over 60 trips to 13 countries in 2012 alone. And if not with us, go with your church or a child sponsorship agency or some other ministry. But I do challenge you to go. Let God use you to be the change the world needs. And in the process, you'll find that He's also changed you. You'll never be the same. And you'll be glad!

www.visitingorphans.org

By AUTUMN KERR