Merry Christmas from Orphan Helpers!

This Christmas, the kids we serve in the orphanages and juvenile detention centers in El Salvador and Honduras had a Christmas Card contest so that they could say thank you to you, our donors and supporters. So, from all the kids we serve, Merry Christmas and God Bless you this holiday season!

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    The artist of this Christmas drawing, Tatiana, moved into the Promise House in 2008, with her little daughter Glenda. They were some of the very first residents in the house.

    Tatiana’s parents died when she was only a baby. At 14, her godfather abused her, and Tatiana became pregnant with his baby. At first, Tatiana did not want her baby.

    But today, little Glenda (now 4) is the light of her life. Tatiana is one of the most intelligent girls in the house… she has participated in several vocational training classes, and has moved up four grades in school since she came to the house. Tatiana dreams of being an architect.

    Thank you for helping Tatiana’s dreams come true!

GIVE A CHRISTMAS GIFT TODAY!

 

Give the BEST gift this Christmas

We have HUGE news… this year, a friend of Orphan Helpers has pledged an amazing Matching Challenge grant … $20,000! Any gift you give before New Year’s Day will be matched dollar-for-dollar.   

 

Today, I hope you’ll give a generous Christmas gift, to be doubled through our Matching Challenge, and follow your gift with prayer. 

 

Please say a special prayer for the Hernandez children: Maria, Sonia, Marilyn, Vidal, Jose, and Diana.

Six brothers and sisters.  They came to us all together. It’s not that their parents ran away. Mom and Dad loved these children.
 
But one day, both parents disappeared without a trace. Police are investigating, saying they are victims of “foul play.”
 
The authorities brought the kids to the CIPI orphanage. We’ll love them with everything we’ve got.  It will be God’s love in action … your love in motion.  
 
And from all the orphans in our care – kids who have hope for the future because God by His grace brought you into their lives … Merry Christmas.

For the children,
Richard Yeargain, Executive Director

The Orphan Helpers Staff

GIVE A MATCHING GIFT NOW!!

Peace is the GOAL

We wanted to say a very special thanks to Mitchell Arnold, founder of Peace is the Goal, for his amazing donation of soccer balls, field cones, ball storage bags, pumps, whistles and goalkeeper gloves. Mitchell, who is 17 years old, started this organization when he was 13. Check out his org’s website here.

Founder Mitchell Arnold 

Thank you, Peace is the Goal, for the awesome donation! Our kids LOVE playing soccer. We have Orphan Helpers staff who are sports teachers in the orphanages and juvenile detention centers in El Salvador and Honduras. They teach the kids sports skills, but more importantly, they teach the value of teamwork, cooperation, humility, work ethic, and perseverance. We can’t express enough how much we appreciate the donation!!!!

 

5 Ways YOU Can Help this Christmas

‘Tis the Season to Give!

While you are out finishing up your Christmas shopping over the next few days, keep the children of Orphan Helpers in your thoughts!

Here are five ways you can help our kids in Central America this Christmas:

1. Organize a clothing/item drive
The kids especially need items like socks, shoes, pajamas, shirts, jeans, backpacks, school supplies, soccer balls, and mosquito nets. Why not get your friends, family, or church involved in a fun project this holiday season? Remember, our kids range from 0-18 years. Visit our site for a more complete list of what we need.

2. Join our Facebook fan page and spread the word
We try to update our Facebook page every day. Find out about what the latest and greatest is at Orphan Helpers. Get your friends and family interested. Tell them why Orphan Helpers is important to you. Encourage them to follow our blog and become a fan on Facebook!

3. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers
The Orphan Helpers kids and staff always need your prayers (view our most recent prayer requests). In fact, our headquarters has a prayer meeting every Wednesday at 12:30 (eastern time), if you would like us to pray specifically for you or a loved one, let us know! We’d be glad to include us in our prayers and praises.

4. Donate to our cause
Any donation, big or small, is greatly appreciated and will immediately be put to good use. Just a dollar a day, or $30 a month would be a great help in our effort to help the 1300+ kids we support in Central America. 

Don’t know what to give that person who has everything? Donate in their honor! We can send a letter or a certificate to the individual informing them of your gift. Don’t know what YOU want for Christmas? Ask your friends and family to give in your honor!

5. Shop
You read it right! Shop! Get your Christmas shopping done AND earn money for Orphan Helpers! Click Here to find out how

Thank You and Merry Christmas!

Meet our Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors plays an important role in what goes on behind-the-scenes at Orphan Helpers. Now, you have a chance to “meet” them!

We have just posted a page on our website which highlights each couple on our Board. Our members work closely with the headquarters staff, serving on committees, helping organize events, raising money, and spreading the word. We wouldn’t be where we are today without their generous assistance and dedication!

Find out a little bit about each member so you can put a face to their name! 

Earn Money for Orphan Helpers when You Shop Online!

We have a really exciting opportunity to earn a lot of money for Orphan Helpers just by doing what we’re doing anyway this time of year – shopping for the holidays.

Hundreds of websites like Target, Best Buy, and Expedia have agreed to donate a percentage of any purchase you make to our cause. All you have to do is download the Causes Toolbar and then it will track your online shopping and automatically donate a percentage to our cause.

You don’t have to do anything else — download the toolbar and you’re done! Go to http://shopping.causes.com?m=c28b51b1

Merry Chrsitmas!

Fall Newsletter: The Sound of Love

Tragedy … and transformation!

Born deaf.

Sexually abused by her grandfather.

Mom, an alcoholic prostitute, dead early from hepatitis.

Taken at 12 by the police, for her own safety.

Four years in and out of government orphanages.

Never went to school. Never even learned sign language.

This was Iris’s life. A tragedy.

But then, thank God, she came to our Hope House, in El Salvador. We had the joy of teaching her sign language. She discovered, along with us, that she is incredibly intelligent!

Today, living with 11 other teenage girls at Hope House, Iris is learning about God’s love, God’s plan for her life, every day. She’s enrolled in a school for the deaf, receiving specialized training for the first time in her life. She’s in a vocational program too, becoming a ceramic artist! Some of her girlfriends at Hope House have learned sign language too, just for the joy of communicating with Iris!

“Iris has hope for her future,” says Orphan Helpers communications director Laura Parker, “and a passion for Christ.” Her goal: to volunteer in a church working with other hearing-impaired people. She’s on track to graduate from high school this coming year, and looking forward to saving enough money to live on her own, working at a legitimate career.

Plus — one more lovely dream: a husband and children. The agony of her own personal childhood will be rubbed out once and for all. By the grace of God. Through the unique work of Orphan Helpers. Thanks to the compassion of friends like you!

The BEST Christmas Present You Can Give This Season

We have HUGE news… this year, a friend of Orphan Helpers has pledged an amazing Matching Challenge grant … $20,000! Any gift you give before Christmas Day will be matched dollar-for-dollar.   

 Today, we hope you’ll give a generous Christmas gift, to be doubled through our Matching Challenge, and follow your gift with prayer. 

Please say a special prayer for the Hernandez children: Maria, Sonia, Marilyn, Vidal, Jose, and Diana.

Six brothers and sisters.  They came to us all together. It’s not that their parents ran away. Mom and Dad loved these children.
 
But one day, both parents disappeared without a trace. Police are investigating, saying they are victims of “foul play.”
 
The authorities brought the kids to the CIPI orphanage. We’ll love them with everything we’ve got.  It will be God’s love in action … your love in motion.  
 
And from all the orphans in our care – kids who have hope for the future because God by His grace brought you into their lives … Merry Christmas.

For the children,

Richard Yeargain
Executive Director

GIVE A CHRISTMAS GIFT NOW!

 

Subversive Behavior

I first read this article two years ago, and just reread it. Wow. So powerful. So I wanted to share it with you!

Steve Hawthorne: Christian subversives in Yawisla

Here’s one of my favorite parts:

We see it every day in demeaning, oppressive interactions among people who have internalized negative, debilitating lies learned from a social system built on age-old inequities and untold bitterness. What to do? Our option has been to be subversives…

But beyond imparting new skills, they focus on building new values in the girls; values that lead in transformational development, such as TRUST. “Trust” is the expectation that people and groups will behave reliably and honestly, that we can count on each other.

With our kids, we see this too. It is difficult to build trust with them when so many of them have been deceived over and over again. But with God, all things are possible!

Please pray for our teachers to be subversive… for God to work through them and turn over the foundation of abuse, abandonment, and distrust, and to build a new foundation of unconditional love, grace, and mercy.

Much love!
Laura 

Fall Newsletter: Staff Profile

“Mama” … just the one they need

    “Mama Filo,” the children call her. Filomena is a single mother with 8 children of her own, but she is also fervently devoted to the girls at our Promise House in El Salvador. She cooks the meals at Promise House, but she’s much more than a cook; she provides a “mother role” that these girls urgently need in their lives, working with them, encouraging them … loving them!

    “A huge heart,” Orphan Helpers CEO Richard Yeargain says, “that’s the first phrase that comes to mind when I think about Mama Filo. She’s one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet.”

    She’s also growing in faith. She listens to the Mini Bible College on a solar-powered portable device every morning with the rest of our Orphan Helpers staff in El Salvador. The more she learns of God and His Word, the more of His love we see on display in her work with the girls.

    One more example of how God is bringing wonderful people into our Orphan Helpers family … for the sake of children in need.