Show Hope: part 1

(blurry cell phone photo. sorry!)

A week ago today, I had the pleasure of volunteering for Show Hope. You guys, Show Hope is amazing. They are the real deal. You can read about what they do and who they are.

I have been sponsoring them for a long, long time now. One of the things that drew me to them (after the fact that SH was started and run by the Chapman's, whom I think the world of) was their passion to not only help orphans, but place them in loving, Christian homes. Show Hope gives grants to Christian families to help with the cost of adoption. And now, they also have have a special needs orphanage in China called Maria's Big House of Hope.

And just listen to what God is doing through Show Hope....the Chinese government saw how amazing MBHOH was with their own eyes. They saw how the children there were being loved and cared for. And guess what they did? They asked Show Hope to take over the special needs floors on all of the state run orphanages in the province of Luoyang. Can you even believe it?! God is moving in the hearts of a government that doesn't allow its people to even worship Him. So now, SH is raising the funds to begin 2 special needs floors in two state run orphanages in Luoyang, as well as give grants and run MBHOH.

Last Sunday, I went to the SCC concert and worked at the Show Hope table for the evening. What an amazing experience. I've done camp fairs too many times to count. I've talked to people about camp and how amazing it is (and it really is). But there was something about helping people become sponsors and sharing with them the wonder of adoption and caring for orphans that made/makes me feel alive inside. Adoption has always, always, always been a big passion of mine. I put my money where my mouth is. I support it and believe in it and pray every single day that I will be able to do it one day. Oh, how I loved looking into the eyes of concert goers and thanking them for choosing to help the orphans of the world. My "thank you" was sincere and most of the time with tear filled eyes.

I was also able to meet Julia, Caleb's wife. She works for Show Hope and was the representative for them at the concert. She was so kind and sweet and just fun. It was really neat to see her passion for Show Hope and hear her get excited to tell people about it.

There were a bunch of other volunteers with me too. Several families with their children. Two girls about my age that worked for an adoption agency that has an office in the area. One of the families has 4 kids and they are adopting 3 siblings from South America! It was so neat to hear their story. They were also SH grant recipients.

There was one other family there, and their story is just as beautiful. I'll share that one tomorrow. It's one I will never, ever forget....