Arise for Children

We've Moved

2010-08-03T16:04:00.001-07:00

Our Blog Address has changed....please follow us at www.ariseforchildren.blogspot.com

ZuZu...before and After

2010-03-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

What a difference a family makes!

WELCOME HOME SWEET BINYAM!!!

2010-02-25T06:04:00.000-08:00

Jehovah Rapha...Our God Heals!

2010-01-27T13:22:00.001-08:00

Welcome Home Dawit and ZuZu!!!!

2010-01-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

Help Haiti

2010-01-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

So many of us have been heart broken at the sights of devastation in Haiti. All of us can do something to help. Arise for Children is supporting to local groups that are doing great work in Haiti. The first, Missions in Haiti, is a Christian based orphanage that was remarkably protected during the quake. They are now serving many of their neighbors and other children that were less fortunate. They can be found at www.missionsinhaiti.com. The second is G.O. Ministries at www.gohelphaiti.org Both have lists of needs that you can help donate at their drop off locations.

As always, thank you for serving the children of the world!

Family Fellowship

2010-01-04T17:46:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone! Don't forget about our Family Fellowship tomorrow evening at New Song Christian from 7-9 p.m. Childcare is provided at $5 per family. We have many reasons to celebrate and pray! Let's start the New Year together!

Face2Face

2009-11-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

Please visit face2faceky.blogspot.com to learn how you can help us this Christmas!

2009-11-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

Thank you families for making our first year so wonderful. It is a true joy to journey along side you. I look forward to this coming year and all that God will do to deliver your children to you!

One Year Celebration!

2009-11-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Please remember to join us this Friday, November 6th, as we celebrate our one year anniversary with a night of Praise and Prayer. We have the pleasure of joining the worship team of New Song Christian Church in this service from 7-8:30 p.m. Childcare is not provided. Friends are welcome to attend.

Update

2009-10-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to all of you who have been praying for our children. We were so grateful to have been able to move 9 of the children to HOPE's orphanage where they will be well cared for by trained nannies and a full time staff nurse. Several of them still need to gain some weight and recover from their first months with little nourishment. Hiwot, the 7 month old, was admitted to the Korean hospital where she remains with a private nanny that we secured. I am still fighting images of her tiny frame and wide eyes that could see nothing but told everything. The doctor said that she was severely dehydrated and had very low levels of calcium and potassium. They have not been able to assess her further but I am very concerned about her lack of muscle control and eye sight. She was like a broken doll who captured my heart. It seems all I can do is take her to my Father and beg Him to fix her as only He can.

Our week in Ethiopia...A Picture Says a Thousand Words...

2009-10-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

my time in ethiopia

2009-09-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

So much to tell and on borrowed time with the internet... Arrived on Saturday night after a day delay with our flight...left thursday! Went to a wonderful service at an international church Sunday morning...great way to start our week. After, we went to the new orphanage to visit 11 children who were darling and tiny. We also visited the transition house and had some successful meetings.

Yesterday was maybe one of the hardest and most rewarding days of my life. We arrived at an orphanage to find one child close to death and 3 others very fragile. I have never experienced such desperate prayer in my life as I held a child of 8 months, weighing 7 lbs, her mouth hung open, stiff body and sagging skin. My wonderful team joined me in a car, each of us holding children that should have been in the intensive care unit of some wonderful hospital, as we struggled to hang onto them bouncing violently through giant pot holes choking fumes of black smoke. 4 babies needing hope and help.

The hospital doctor said that the one I held was 2 hours from death and critical...fever 103, sepsis, pink eye, upper gi infection, respiratory infection, roda virus and a severe case of dehydration...please pray for her. Her name is Hirwot...meaning LIFE.

Today, we visited the children in our home who are matched to families and waiting court. They were healthy, vibrant and loving...what a difference a little support makes! I was able to see little Melat...lovely; Bereket....Adorable; Dawit....Precious (gaining weight) Many of the children were in school but we will return on thursday.

Tomorrow we head to Nazret! Please keep us in your prayers! We are visiting a very needy area. Continue to pray also that God will arise in strength and power to have victory in Ethiopia.

Much Love,
Susan

How Will We Answer Them?

2009-08-20T04:54:00.000-07:00

15 million children, orphaned by AIDS worldwide.
That number is equivalent to the populations of New York, Paris, and Bangkok, combined.

"I believe that this could very well be looked back on as the sin of our generation. I look at my parents and ask, where were they during the civil rights movement? I look at my grandparents and ask, what were they doing when the holocaust in Europe was occurring with regard to the Jews, and why didn't they speak up? And when we think of our great, great, great-grandparents, we think how could they have sat by and allowed slavery to exist? And I believe that our children and their children, 40 or 50 years from now, are going to ask me, what did you do while 40 million children became orphans in Africa?"

--Rich Stearns, President of World Vision

Bitter Sweet

2009-08-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the tough assignment of telling an adoptive family that their referred children were no longer available. While we rejoice that a birth mother returned to care for her daughters, we also grieve for the expectant family. It served as a reminder that the Lord is in control and that His ways are not always our ways...yet perfect. We stand confident that He is gracious and just and will provide for both of these families. It is a bitter sweet reality that two families accross the world from one another can have common love and willing hearts for these little ones, even if only for a while.

Good News

2009-07-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

Good News...All 3 families had a smooth process in court yesterday! Heading home Friday...pray for safe travel!

Pray Please

2009-07-22T19:18:00.001-07:00

Please keep the B family in your prayers as they adjust after their recent return home with their 3 children....Also, pray for the N, M, and R families as they travel this week to Ethiopia to pick up their children.

All Together Now!!!

2009-07-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

A BIG welcome home to the C family from Wisconsin who is finally ALL together! What a great example of perserverance, prayer, and faith lived out loud.

Big Thanks!

2009-06-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

A big thank you goes out to all those who have gone the extra mile lately to help the children of Ethiopia...

*Thank you Dr. Andy Gould for making a special trip to visit our partner orphanages and examine our children

*Thank you Hollie Colwick for taking soooo many beautiful photos of our waiting and matched children while there

*Thank you Cindy Lowe for holding down the fort and supporting ARISE in so many ways

*Thank you Lesley Scott and Tera Melber for continuing to advocate for our program

*A special thanks to my husband, Pat, for putting the needs of orphan children above his own for 12 days!

Pat with the C Family in Ethiopia!!!

2009-06-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

Pat made it to Ethiopia in time to say good-bye to the C family as they head home to Kentucky...please pray for them as they travel this weekend and for Pat as he has much to do over the next 10 days.

Prayers that Avail Much

2009-05-28T08:15:00.001-07:00

I am so grateful and blessed to watch the hand of God in the lives of our Ethiopian orphaned children and the families that pursue them. This spring has been full of God's favor and blessings as we welcome home children, celebrate successful court processes, and match children to waiting families. There is much still to be done and new projects to get started. Join us in prayer and praise as we watch God's plans and provision unfold!

Family Fellowship

2009-04-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Families,

Please don't forget our upcoming fellowship next Tuesday evening, May 4th, at New Song Church. We will be enjoying a guest speaker and native Ethiopian, Senite Andergachu. Senite will be helping us all learn a little Amharic! Please remember snacks and drinks and also childcare tips ($5 per child). Also, please keep the M and C families in your prayers as they travel this week to pick up their children. We look forward to welcoming them home!

Parent Meeting in April

2009-03-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

Though many people are on spring break, we have decided to go ahead with our April meeting! Cindy and I have just returned for the Joint Council Meeting and Ethiopian Caucas so there are several things to share with existing families. We will also be spending time in prayer for several upcoming court cases. Please join us April 7th at New Song Christian Church on Old Henry Road from 7-9. Interested families that have not yet applied may also plan to attend our informational meeting from 6-7 (please let us know if you will be attending). All ARISE families...please remember to bring snacks and drinks! See you then!

Welcome HOME!!!

2009-03-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome Home to Mekdes!!!!

Please join us in celebrating another arrival home for a precious girl, Mekdes. I actually had the great pleasure of meeting Mekdes last summer during one of my visits. She is truly a girl of beauty both inside and out...such a sweet spirit! I am so happy that she is finally with her family in Arizona who has fought to bring her home for so long!

Sirgute

2009-03-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you all know that Sirgute is returning from Ethiopia tomorrow with her two newly adopted children, Kalkidan 8, and Elsa 14. All of the Norville's family live out of town and they have few to welcome them home. After all Sirgute has done for our adoption community I thought I would ask if any of you would like to join me at the airport. I know it would mean so much to Sirgute and her husband Mike if they had friends to greet the arrival of their first children together! Feel free to bring signs, balloons, or a marching band!

If you are unable to be there and would rather write a welcome home card, please feel free to send it to our office address.

Time: 8:15 p.m. in the Louisville Airport Waiting Area!!!! See you there!

Susan

They're HOME!!!! Miracles Happen~

2009-03-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

Coming HOME!

2009-02-27T06:25:00.000-08:00

Just heard from the D Family...they are headed to the airport and should be home on United Airlines... Saturday night at 6 p.m....Hooray!

God is able to do more than we hope or imagine...

2009-02-27T06:04:00.000-08:00

A note from the D Family!!!!

This morning has been a whirlwind, but a great whirlwind. We have it all! We awoke this morning hopeful, but uneasy. We went down for breakfast and I returned to the room at exactly 8:30 AM to begin to call the embassys. I tried calling the embassy in Nairobi, Kenya but could not get the call to go through. So, I called the embassy here and they told me they had the fingerprints back! YEAHHH! She was not sure then if everything could be done AND we found out that Monday is a holiday and they will be closed. So, we waited by the phone as she said she would call back in about 30 minutes.

An hour later, I was ready to call them back, but the phone rang. It was Rahal, from the agency, and she said she was on her way to pick us up to go to the embassy. We still weren't sure what that completely meant, but we were excited. We got there and went upstairs and after a short wait we were called to window #8. A man from the US asked us the questions about Daniel and what we knew of him. We signed some forms and he showed us the passport....we were still not sure if we would get it all today. After apologizing for not being more friendly because he was in a hurry, he said he was just trying to get it done. We said, "don't apologize, we were thankful." After several "official" stamps of governmental stamps, he said give him about 20 minutes and he would have everything for us.

After that time we were called back up and given everything. The passports, the visas, and the immigrations documents! WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED TO COME HOME! To God be all the glory! We went to bed last night prayerful with great expectations and God surpassed them all.

We zipped to the Hilton to get some money from the ATM and then I checked on our flights there. We are calling every hour trying to make the flight tonight, but it doesn't look good at this point. Nonetheless, we are confirmed for the Sunday night flight (no flights tomorrow) which gets us back to Louisville Monday night.

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE PRAYERS. Please continue to pray for safe travel and that we will even make that flight tonight! We are ready to come home. I pray that I can come back to Ethiopia in the future, if not even many times, but for now, we want to come home.

Stay tuned and we will let you know if we make the flight tonight or not! FAITH AND CALEB....WE ARE COMING HOME! YEAH!

Thanks again to everyone and stay tuned!

Matt, Teresa, Joshuah, and Daniel

Prayer Request

2009-02-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

We have great reason to praise and pray! The C & S families made it home safe and sound with their children along with Pat! The D family however has remained behind in order to process the visa of their second child. As you may recall their second son passed court only 2 days prior to departing so they are praying for real miracles ... what normally takes 6 weeks to happen in 2! They were also required to update their fingerprints in country and are awaiting their processing through Kenya! Please pray for peace, patience and faithful endurance as this family is away from their children and family at home. Pray also for break-through and favor as they have their embassy appointment next Wednesday~

2009-02-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

All families are doing well and most are starting their long journey home tonight and tomorrow. Pat is with Sirgute and they are 'house hunting' tomorrow morning for a new orphanage site which will now be in Addis instead of Jimma. Pray for favor and opportunity. Please also pray for all families and children to have safe, healthy,...& stress free....travel!

Prayer Needed

2009-02-18T09:13:00.000-08:00

Please pray for our families to successfully get through the embassy process. The D family was told they needed updated fingerprints done even though theirs were not expired. The process will take 5 days at least! Pray that they will be able to bring both boys home without delays!

Update & Prayer Request

2009-02-17T06:02:00.000-08:00

All children have joined their families and Pat gave out 100lbs of donations in a blink of an eye! Pray for embassy appointments to go smoothly (happening as we sleep on tuesday night). Also, the D family had a great gift just before leaving...their second child passed court. We are hoping with a miracle they will be able to bring both boys home without too much delay...please keep praying!

Update

2009-02-16T06:44:00.000-08:00

All of our families arrived safely in Addis over the weekend. One of them was awaken by a early morning phone call...this is her note:

Guess who talked to her son today……..ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had Rob call from the orphanage to let me just hear his voice.

Mikias said:

Hello mommy

How are you

I will see you Friday

I love you mommy

Bye

It was the best wake up call of my life

2009-02-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

Celebrating with 6 of our families!!! 3 have passed court and 3 others are on their way to Ethiopia with Pat. Please keep all in your prayers and stay tuned for details!

Snow Days!

2009-01-31T11:04:00.001-08:00

For those of you in Sunny states, Louisville was hit hard with a winter blast. Our office is still without power and our homes have lost power off and on. We will do our best to keep up communications, but please be patient with us as we defrost!
~ fyi...it is a sunny 70 degrees in Ethiopia~

2009-01-13T19:38:00.000-08:00

We are so happy to welcome home another precious son from Ethiopia!!!! Congratulations and Welcome Home Williams Family!

WELCOME HOME!

2008-12-29T00:49:00.000-08:00

Project G.L.O.W. and Arise Adoptions welcomes home another precious Ethiopian child...Merry Christmas Thom and Lesley!

History Channel

2008-12-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

For those of you who get the history channel, tune in Monday night(Dec 22nd)for a special on Ethiopia! The Queen of Sheba and the Arc of the Covenant are said to be featured.

Update from the Scotts

2008-12-18T06:02:00.001-08:00

Email down

The computer at our guest house is not working right anymore so I am not able to get on my email to send anymore updates! Things are going great and we finished our Embassy appointment yesterday - his Visa to America will come Friday morning! The boys are taking their morning nap (Thom and baby) so I"m going to head out with our driver to see if we can grab any last minute items to take back with us.

Sorry for the short update - we'll see you all on Saturday night!!! I'll send more detailed updates once we get home to the USA!!!

Note from the Scotts

2008-12-15T05:33:00.001-08:00

HELLO!!! We have arrived and we are in Addis Ababa! It is currently 8am (midnight in KY). Our flights were all on time Saturday and Sunday...it was a long journey - but we made it. We met a couple other families on the airplane yesterday - so we just enjoyed breakfast together! Our driver is coming at 9am to take us to the orphanage to meet our children.

We slept well last night however we were up at 4:45 this morning ready to go...I think my body was ready to watch Sunday night football (it was 8:45 KY time)...we all met at 7am for breakfast and are enjoying visiting with our 2 other families...the two other families have previously adopted from China - so they have been helpful. This morning was the first time I have ever had to pack "my own" diaper bag!! EXCITING!!!!

I'll try to post later after we see Eli (Yirdaw) for the first time....we have a shared comptuer here at our guest house that seems pretty easy to get on....we can't post pictures until we get home - but hopefully I can post daily updates.

Thanks for praying for us!! Can't wait to see our boy....

Arise Adoptions Christmas Party

2008-11-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

Arise Adoption Families, join us for our first-ever Christmas Party on Saturday, December 6th! This open house event will be for adults only, and will give us a chance to get to know each other better. We invite you to bring a gift for our KVI orphanage (see list below). Here are the details:

What: Arise Adoptions Christmas Party (Open House)
When: Saturday, December 6th, 6pm - 9pm
Where: 11725 Paramont Way, Louisville, KY 40059 US*

*Park at the clubhouse, the house is across the street

Bring a gift for our KVI orphanage from our wishlist:
Sturdy Used Suitcases (10)
Bathroom Scales (3)
Children's Multivitamins (15)
Underwear, Ages 0-15 (10)

2008-11-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

I just had to add this to our blog today. This is one of our first children home through our Ethiopian program this year. To be honest, this was a hard week ...so many waiting kids, court challenges, money issues...well, it's all part of it. Anyway, today's surprise photo was such a treat and encouragement. To have visited this precious one in Ethiopia, to know her Birth Mother's heart for her daughter's future and to also know the wonderful family that has embraced her as their own...to see the joy in her face, to understand the peace her birth mother has and to know the love of her family...too much for words.

It just makes it all worth it!

Prayer for the Older Child

2008-10-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Could you join me in praying for the older children who wait. For all those who have lost parents and hold on to hope that someday they will be a part of a family again. Those who watch as the little ones get chosen; those who help interpret to the parents coming to gather their babies; those quietly watch and then ask their caregivers...when is it my turn?...while they grow older waiting.

We have several older boys and girls ages 4 and up who desperately need to find families. If you or someone you know is willing to consider an older child or sibling set, please contact us at 502-387-3848.

*child in photo is not an orphan or available for adoption

Our License is Here!

2008-10-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce that Arise Adoptions, Inc. has officially been born! We are now able to operate in our own name and will continue working along side our partners, Kingdom Vision International and Hope Adoption Agency in Ethiopia. Project G.L.O.W. will continue to operate as our humanitarian program to orphans as well as providing education to parents. Please celebrate with us as we hold an Open House later this fall!

WELCOME HOME!!!!

2008-10-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Project G.L.O.W. welcomes home our newest additions, Eyerusalem "Ellie" & Mesfin "Micah"!!! So glad to see you in the arms of your parents!

Exciting time for ALL

2008-09-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and lots of great things are happening...to God's glory! We are pursuing our license to operate as a full service adoption agency. Two of our families are traveling this Saturday to pick up their beautiful children and several new referrals have been given to waiting families. Please continue to pray for both the children and families who are waiting to be brought together and join us in celebrating God's goodness!

Exciting Times for Families

2008-09-04T07:24:00.001-07:00

We had another great time of fellowship with 7 of our families adopting from Ethiopia! Please pray for several of our families who are due to either travel or have court dates this fall. We look forward to celebrating with them soon!

2008-08-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Children of Promise

2008-08-11T18:18:00.001-07:00

We have many waiting children over 7 years old that need help finding families. If you or someone you know might be interested in adopting an older Ethiopian orphan please contact us at (502) 387-3848. We also have some sibling sets that need extra help finding the right family. Please help us get the word out on the children who wait.

Family Update

2008-08-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who attended our first family gathering! Nine families were represented and it was so great to fellowship together. A big thanks to Elizabeth Wilkerson for helping pull it all together. Join us the first Tuesday of every month as we meet at New Song Christian Church from 7-9. Prospective and Waiting Families are Welcome!

Join Us!

2008-07-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

Please join us for an evening of prayer and fellowship for waiting and interested families. We will gather this Tuesday from 7- 9 p.m. at New Song Christian Church on Old Henry Rd. We will give time for questions and answers as well as prayer for families, team, and children. Everyone is asked to bring a dessert or a liter of soda please. See you there!

Waiting Kids

2008-07-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

We have several older waiting children that need help finding families. Presently we have a sibling group of four (ages 7 months, 3, 7, and 10) as well as two sibling groups with one child in each that is HIV+. Please help us bring these children home! (Children depicted in this photo are not available for adoption)

When Hope has a Name

2008-07-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who helped make this class session a success. We had 11 prospective adoptive families learning and sharing together through our course, When Hope Has a Name. Twenty-one waiting parents hoping to bring home children from Taiwan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Haiti, and Russia coming together to learn how to be the parents their children will need. So inspiring and exciting! Our next course will be held in September...log on to http://www.theadoptioncoach.com/ to register.

Project G.L.O.W. shines in Ethiopia

2008-07-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from a second trip to Ethiopia where I joined our new partners Kingdom Vision International. God did amazing things in a relatively short period of time. We traveled to Nazret and Addis where I was so blessed to visit many children who are waiting for sponsors or adoptive families. I was also able to meet several of the children's mothers who were precious and faithful women of God, courageously making the choice of adoption as they faced uncertainty with HIV.

We were able to visit children and their mothers who were already in a sponsorship program through KVI. It was wonderful to see the impact that had been made with a small but consistent gift. When asked, "If you could have anything, what would you pray for?" one child simply replied, "a blanket and a chair". What joy it brought us to play a part in answering his prayer that afternoon!