November 2010 Update

The Orphan Justice Fellowship started Sept. 28th and we have just four weeks left. It has been such an incredible time…it could take a week to express all that God is doing!


Orphan Justice Center Fellowship

“Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Isaiah 1:17

“Understanding the crisis” part of the fellowship includes reading and research involving human trafficking in the world and in the U.S., foster care, child development, attachment disorders, and how God views justice. Each week we give presentations on various topics related to justice, write blogs (mine is lovinggodskids.wordpress.com), study leadership, and lead prayer in the global prayer room (You can join us Friday mornings 6am-8am www.ihop.org/prayerroom).

My schedule has been pretty full, 6am – 6pm or 9pm some nights, but my spirit feels so alive! I tangibly feel the Lord’s delight and love for these little ones. And I feel His zeal for justice; to make the wrong things in the world right. I’m so thankful He’s going to make all things new one day!! (Rev. 21)

The “restore” part involves mentoring adopted and foster children by bringing them into the prayer room twice a week to learn about Jesus and to pray for them. Sundays we take the kids on fun field trips. It has been so eye-opening working with these kids…some are growing so rapidly in the Lord! They are affectionate, eager to learn about Jesus, and creative. Others have taken more time to trust and respond to our efforts. So many of them have touched my heart. I’m ready to take one in:)



(Me and Hadassa)

We’ve also toured a battered women’s shelter, a Christian troubled girls’ home, and a state boys’ home. It is hard hearing the stories of abuse, feeling the hopelessness of a home without Jesus. But the Christian home was full of love! The girls shared testimonies of how Jesus saved them and healed their hearts and families. These tours have helped us gain strategies for rescuing and restoring children. IHOP-KC has a vision of bringing in thousands of orphans, so we need to have a plan:)

One boy that touched my heart is Moses. I had received a text from an OJC friend before the fellowship started, asking me to pray for a 4 yr old boy who had been severely abused. An IHOP-KC family tried to adopt him, but they didn’t get him in time. He was hospitalized and remained in a coma for two weeks. The doctors had to cut his skull because of all the swelling. We continued to pray, knowing brain damage was probable without a miracle. A few weeks into the Fellowship, a new boy showed up for me to pray with. He was 4 yrs old with a large scar from one ear to the other. He was beautiful and his name was Moses. My heart leaped! Here he was, sitting next to me a few months after leaving the hospital, coloring a picture of his new family and lots of green grass. I was overwhelmed by his joyful spirit and affection toward me. How powerful is our God!!

Thomas was a ten year old adopted boy that was difficult, full of rejection, hatred, and wouldn’t look us in the eyes. I had a hard time in school with him, because he would lie a lot and had no motivation. We prayed so much for him!! His heart was hard toward God. He said he didn’t care about God, that He didn’t want to know Him. After long, intensive prayer and weeks of speaking truth to him, he accepted Christ!! There was such an instant change in him. He looked at us, smiled, and wanted to go to the prayer room with us! He came running up to me at school and said “Bethany, guess what?! I got saved 10/10/2010 at 10am! And I’m ten years old!!” I laughed, and I blurted…”Thomas, you are a miracle! God has amazing plans for you!”



Prostitution Outreach

“God sets the lonely in families, he leads the prisoners out with singing.” Ps. 68:6

I went with Exodus Cry teams to reach out to prostitutes downtown Kansas City last Thursday. It was extremely cold last week, so the streets were relatively quiet (except for a few gunshots). Our team met three women who were standing outside a rehab center. One girl was 3 months pregnant. She had been clean 45 days. As we prayed over them and gave them words of encouragement, the tears flowed. Their hope was renewed. The Lord is so near the brokenhearted! He wants his little girls free from their pimps and the prison of addiction. I think of Tonya, how these women could be just like her - just needing one person to pray for her, to help her break through bondage and take a step toward the Father…steps to freedom! Tonya’s doing really well. She has been at Second Chance since my last update. She’s involved with an inner city Baptist church that is closer to the house, and they’ve taken her under their wing. It’s beautiful to see her determination to stay clean again for her new grandbaby. Her son’s girlfriend is pregnant. She just turned 40 and is going to be a grandma soon!


First Baptist Church mission team comes to KC

“The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed” Luke 4:18-19

1st Baptist from Elgin is bringing a team of six (including my sister Tracy…yay!) to Kansas City November 18-21. I am super excited for them to come to serve in the inner city, serve adoptive families, to evangelize, to experience the prayer room, and to draw close to God!