In James 1:27 we read that “True Religion” has to include taking care of orphans and widows. The King James version reads “visit” orphans and widows, but the root Greek word translated “visit” actually means “to take care of”.  We are to take care of orphans and widows in their distress.  “Distress” refers to the heavy weight pressing down upon them.  Religion that God accepts will take care of orphans and widows in a way that lifts the weight and stress off of them.

What is the greatest source of stress pressing down on orphans? … not belonging to a family. An adoption revolution within the body of Christ is a front line of attack in recovering the essence of true religion in the church.  Without literal, physical, legal adoption, the greatest pressure bearing down upon orphans cannot be relieved.  We can house orphans in institutions or group homes, but until someone says “I will be your father, I will be your mother, we will give you permanence”, those children will remain orphans with their primary pain aching in their hearts and their primary crushing burden unmoved.  Within the body of Christ there will be many ways to lift the burden off of orphans, but unless an army of sober and compassionate couples arise and bring those children into their families, the other avenues will remain closed.

Derek

Derek

Breanne Dinsmore as Aunt May and Sana as the "Scarecrow"

My niece Isabelle as the "Tin Man"

Our darling Michaela as the "Cowardly Lion"

Our daughter Michaela as the waitress, Isabelle as the French Gentleman and our daugther Sophia as the French Woman

Our daughter Sana, Breanne, Isabelle, Sophia (with peanut butter all over her face) and Michaela

I can’t tell you all how proud I am of our kiddos.  Their hearts for the orphan and adoption just blows me away.  My nephew Taylor wrote two incredible scripts and had our niece Isabelle, our friend Breanne Dinsmore and our daughters Sophia, Michaela and Sana as the actors in his plays.  The whole purpose was to raise money for adoption. Their performances during “A night in France” and a revised version of “The Wizard of Oz” were just amazing!  My niece Isabelle also made some beautiful jewelry and held an auction to raise money for adoptions as well. She is very talented and sold out of everything she made. If any of you would like to check out her handiwork you can go to http://bellescorner.wordpress.com/my-jewelry/ and support her very worthy cause!

The Master was searching for a vessel to use,

on a shelf there were many,

Which one would He choose?

Pick me, cried the gold one,

I’m shiny and bright, I’m of great value,

and do things just right.

My beauty and lustre will outshine the rest,

and for someone like you, Master, I would be best.

But the Master passed on with no word at all,

He came to a silver urn, it was narrow and tall.

I’ll serve you, Dear Master, and I’ll pour your wine,

and be at your table whenever you dine.

My lines are so graceful and my carvings so true,

and my silver would always compliment you.

Unheeding, the Master passed on to the brass,

it was wide mouthed and shallow and polished like glass.

Here, here, cried the vessel, I know I will do,

place me on your table for all men to view.

Look at me, cried the goblet of crystal so clear,

my transparency shows my contents are dear.

Though fragile am I, I’ll serve you with pride,

and I’m sure I’d be happy in your house to abide.

But the Master came next to a vessel of wood,

polished and carved, it solidly stood.  Use me,

Dear Master, the wooden bown said,

But I’d rather you’d use me for fruit, please

no bread.

Then the Master looked down and saw a vessel of

clay, empty, broken, it helplessly lay.

No hope had that vessel, that the Master might choose to

cleanse and make whole, to fill or to use.  Ah, this

is the vessel I’ve been hoping to find.  I’ll mend it and I’ll

use it and I’ll make it all Mine.

I need not a vessel with pride in itself,

not the one so narrow who sits on the shelf,

nor the one who’s big mouthed and shallow and loud,

not the one who displays its contents so proud,

not the one who thinks he can do all things just right,

but this plain earthen vessel filled with MY power and might.

Then  gently He lifted the vessel of clay,

mended and cleansed it and filled it that day.

He spoke to it kindly, there’s work you must do.

You pour out to others and I’ll pour into you.

By : Beulah V. Cornwall

This is Telma’s Compassion DTS YWAM group

The view from Telma’s room!

Our handsome little Silas

Sophia loves her precious Sasha

Teyolla with miracle boy Ethan

Sana and Michaela

Beautiful Leeann and Sana

Key Key and little “Si”

Sana and KK (Michaela)… so beautiful.. inside and out!

Telma is having a great time in Hawaii!  We miss her like crazy! Things are definitely not the same without her.  She is really enjoying her Youth With A Mission training and after she’s completed her time in Hawaii, she’ll be going to Rwanda to do her outreach, working with orphans! We’re so proud of her!!   Telma is making lots of friends and is really enjoying all she’s learning in her training.  She’s journaling a lot as well and is excited about what the Lord is speaking to her heart.  Telma has 5 roommates and has an amazing view from her bedroom window.  Having been raised in the Marshall Islands and then moving to the states, it was kind of fun for her to move to Hawaii during her Compassion Discipleship Training.  It’s like a little taste of heaven for her, having the beach very close and all the gorgeous flowers, trees and mountains right at her front door!

The rest of our tribe is doing great!  Our twins (Teyolla and Keyolla) are out of school and learning to drive. We’ve had a few scary moments on the road but some good laughter too (isn’t that what learning to drive is all about?).  They’re excited about getting their driver’s license.  Tey and Key are such a great help to all our children and are such a ray of sunshine in our lives!

Leeann is doing fabulously well in school!  She is zooming ahead and actually loves her schoolwork!  She is such a joy and has such a precious spirit! We are blessed to have her as ours!

Our newest daughter Sana is adjusting so well. It’s like she’s never not been ours. She is so happy and full of life! She loves to wrestle with Derek. He says she’s 1/3 princess, 1/3 comedian and 1/3 ninja warrior!  I think he’s right!!

Silas will be having his heart surgery on November 2nd.  The surgeon will be closing a large hole in his heart.  We would appreciate your prayers.  Silas, Ethan and Sasha have only been in the U.S. for a short time and are both doing so much better physically and emotionally!  All the boys have birthdays in November!  We will have a great time celebrating their little lives!!

Sophia and Michaela (our biological daughters) are so amazing! They love all their adopted brothers and sisters and are always working on plans to raise funds for orphans. They do everything from selling lemonade and cookies to putting on plays etc… to raise money for orphans from around the world.  They have such compassionate hearts and we are so proud of who they are.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and your support!  We appreciate you greatly and are humbled by your love!

Hugs and blessing to you all!

Renee’ and I were married in 1992.  Renee’ grew up on the mission field in the South Pacific Islands and I grew up in a traveling ministry with my family.  In 1994 our first child, “Josiah” was born with severe Spina Bifida.  Living only 2 and 1/2 years, Josiah died in June of 1996.  He was a priceless gift to us!  The Lord used him in so many ways to open our eyes to His love.  Through Josiah’s life and death, our love for special needs children and the orphan was birthed.  We are very excited to present to you our vision, named after our son Josiah, whose life and death impacted us and caused our eyes to be opened to the reality of the plight of over two hundred million orphans around the world who have no one to call their own.

Our Vision is to rescue, adopt and restore 30 needy and neglected children, inspiring thousands of couples throughout the body of Christ to adopt and take care of the orphan. Many of the children we will adopt will have special needs and we have a vision to restore them through equestrian, horticultural, and traditional therapeutic programs. We want to see them healed in the atmosphere of continuous worship and prayer at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.

Land
There is a 45 acre piece of land near the House of Prayer we want to purchase and use to accomplish our vision. The acreage is wooded and ideal for establishing equestrian therapy and horticultural therapy services. We estimate that it will cost $272,000 to purchase and prepare this land for construction.

A Home
In order to house 30 children and five to ten adults, we need to build a 15,000 – 20,000 square ft home. We are boldly stepping out to raise $2.5 million to accomplish this.

The Apostle Paul tells us that when we make melody in our hearts to the Lord, singing songs of worship to Him, we get filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18-20). In Romans 8 we read that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Adoption who tells us that we belong to God. When the orphan begins to sing scripture to the Lord, making melodies in his heart to God, that orphan’s spirit begins to be filled with the Spirit of Adoption and they begin to know that they belong. The spirit of rejection is replaced with the spirit of acceptance and belonging and the spirit of fear is replaced with the Spirit of love, power, and a sound mind. We’ve seen this happen in the lives of our adopted children and our goal is simple … we simply want to do it over and over again.

Will you partner with us to make that happen?

Please visit our website at  http://www.josiahfund.org to get involved!