Never in my life have I considered moving to the Pacific northwest. Not until All God’s Children, that is.
To keep a short story short, I applied for an internship with All God’s Children International in late March, was offered the position in early May, and began at the beginning of June. Just thinking back to how quick that process was gives me whiplash, goodness gracious. To go from discovering AGCI to working for them in Washington state within a couple of months was quite the paradigm shift for me. A lifestyle dedicated to orphan care wasn’t just a far-off dream anymore – it has finally become my reality.
I’d like to share the heart of AGCI and why it led me to pick up and move from one coast to the other.
If you visit allgodschildren.org, the first thing you will be greeted with is this verse:
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” James 1:27
And if you are acquainted in any way with the scale of the plight of widows, orphans, and the oppressed, that verse alone brings us face to face with a daunting task. (This verse is only one of several hundred that reflect God’s heart to bring justice to the oppressed, by the way.) There are a variety of ways to care for populations in need of justice and care, resulting from the variety of situations that constitute the social group known as orphans. This link will give some background and estimated numbers that may provide context to the magnitude of the global orphan crisis. As it mentions in that link, the major ways to intervene into the cycle of the global orphan crisis are efforts to 1. preserve families whenever possible 2. reunite families whenever possible and 3. expand families through adoption when biological families are unwilling/unable to care for a child.
I’m so proud to work for and advocate for AGCI, an organization that has 5 specific spheres of intervention into the global orphan crisis – including efforts ranging from family stabilization models to adoption to policy change at the highest levels of government. All God’s Children Intl. began as an adoption agency that was (and has always been) dedicated to finding families for children, rather than finding children for families. The heart of AGCI has always been to advocate for children in the way that is best suited for them, which has led to the expansion of our efforts. I can’t stress enough how important it is for orphan care to be pursued in a holistic sense. The pro-life movement that the Church should be known for is one that does not begin with conception and end at birth. If your desire is to be pro-life, let me be one to tell you that God has not called you and I to be simply pro-birth. His heart is for you and I to care for all His children throughout the course of their lives. Regardless of ethnicity, regardless of religion, regardless of social status, regardless of mental or physical status, regardless of politic views – we are called to care for all of God’s children with the same compassionate heart that He has toward them.
Okay, I’ve got that off my chest. And I’ll be completely honest with you, as that is my continual desire for this platform, and tell you that my heart is still fearful and overwhelmed when I am confronted with the thought of being holistically pro-life. As just one 21-year-old girl with only a collective 3 months of lifetime experience in cross-cultural contexts and 3 months of working for AGCI, I am overwhelmed by the need I recognize across the globe. For example, encountering the homeless population in Vancouver and Portland has given me a discouraging sense of helplessness during my time here. How am I supposed to help them? And how am I supposed to help the refugees and immigrants being torn from their families at the border of my home state? How am I supposed to counsel every woman considering abortion that there is hope for life in the midst of her distress? How am I supposed to find families for every child that I receive files for at AGCI?
Here’s the thing – I’m not. God has not placed the entire weight of the oppressed and marginalized peoples in this world upon my shoulders. And the same goes for you, my friend. He has given us seriously powerful tools to fight this fight. One tool is a global network known as the Church – an institution created to be His hands and feet by sharing His heart of service and relentlessly pursuing justice. He’s also given us the Holy Spirit, the indwelling presence of the Lord that is our Life-giving source and keeps us from experiencing debilitating burnout from that relentless pursuit of justice.
It’s not up to one person to save the world and care for every orphan. The biggest reason for this is that there is one God who has already saved the world and already has a plan to care for every orphan. Because orphan care, and especially adoption, is the very picture of the Gospel (summarized in Galatians 4:4-5), it doesn’t surprise me at all that God has called us to be His image-bearers in this way.
We can’t save this world or heal all of the brokenness. Not by ourselves. Rather, we have been called to simply say yes. Yes, I will love all God’s children – because He first loved me, I will show His love by caring for His people. If he places an opportunity in front of me, I want to say yes and follow Him without question.
Now, if I know myself, I know I won’t be able to live up to what He’s asked of me. There are times that fear of the unknown or fear of being overtaken by the enormity of the issue has prevented me from acting, and I don’t doubt those times will come again. But I’ve got to recognize that failure to act doesn’t mean the end. God speaks in those moments of weakness, pointing out the people I didn’t see or didn’t want to see, and He convicts me that they are exactly the people He wants to use me to show love to. With time, I’ll come to realize that there truly is no fear in love. I’ll realize that Christ in me possesses greater strength than I’ll ever have by working in my own strength. And maybe one day I’ll realize that none of this is about me at all, but ultimately about giving glory to the only One who deserves it all.
Reconciliation. Redemption. Adoption. The heart of the Gospel and the heart of orphan care.
How can you say yes?
~Hal
Soundtrack of a Blog
9. Follow You (feat. Brandon Heath) by Leeland
10. All of God’s Children by Jon Foreman
11. I Saw What I Saw by Sara Groves
12. For Your Glory by Leeland