Walk This Way 2010

Defend the Orphans ministry will hold the 1st planning meeting for Walk this Way 2010 on Jan 24th at Coaling Baptist Church in the new fellowship hall at 2:00pm. We will have coffee and cookies. You will have a chance to share your ideas, sign up for working on committees and to work the day of the walk. This is a great opportunity to really be a part of helping a child find a forever home. The planning meeting is open to all who are interested. Many churches were involved in the planning and the donations last year. This is a community wide effort. We will hold the Walk at Coaling Town Park tentatively Sat. March 20th from 9-12. The walk a thon will benefit local foster children and assist church families who want to adopt but may not have the money to meet all the adoption fees. God really blessed us last year with about $6,000 from the walk that has helped provide camp fees, dental work, field trips, personal items, etc. for many foster children. I believe this year will exceed the donations of last year but most of all we pray for God to receive all the Glory and His name be honored.

Christmas and Defend the Orphans future

Hello to all and Happy New year. I hope all are very Blessed this new year. Our project to fill the Christmas wish lists of 6 children at the Alabama Children Home was a tremendous success. Several wish lists were adopted outright by generous individuals in the church and others donated through the Dollar Drive in November. We were able to deliver the gifts to ABC Homes in the second week of Dec. so the children would have their gifts under their Christmas trees early. We were very blessed in this effort and once again Coaling Baptist has shown what a big heart they have to serve orphans. God bless you Coaling Baptist.

As Jan 2010 rolls in we will begin to focus on planning for Walk This Way 2010. Please Please be in prayer for us as we proceed that we will follow God and His heart for this event . We are looking forward to this tremendous chance to serve the local foster kids in our area and to help promote the need for adoptive families. With the proceeds from last year's walk we have been able to meet many needs of the local DHR kids such as braces, field trips and camp fees. What a blessing to serve the least of these in His name.

November was National Adoption Awareness month and Sunday the 8th was National Orphan Sunday. In honor of these two event DTO begin a Dollar Drive for Adoption at Coaling Baptist. Every Sunday we collected donation for orphans. The money will go toward filling the Christmas wish lists of 6 foster children at the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes

I just wanted to give thanks for such a wonderful church at Coaling Baptist who has such a big heart for orphans. Thanks to you we have been able to collect enough donations to fill the Christmas wish lists of six children in the Alabama Baptist Children's homes. We will bless the gifts and the children the first week in Dec. We will say a prayer for the children to be blessed with their gifts and for them to be blessed in their family situations. Thank you again CBC for your example of loving Christ

New Ministry opportunities in November and December

Defend the Orphans has new ministry opportunities in November and December. November is National Adoption Awareness month and November 8th is National Orphan Sunday. To kick off our Adoption Awareness month Defend the Orphans ministry is initiating a Dollar Drive For Adoption Awareness in the month of November on Sunday November 8th. What this means is we are asking all families and individuals to collect their loose change and dollar bills to donate each Sunday at the morning service and at the Wednesday night service for the Adoption Awareness fund. We will have a container in the church sanctuary to collect your dollars and loose change each Sunday and Wednesday in the month on November. Our Team Kids ministry will join in by sharing a verse of scripture pertaining to adoption in each Sunday service and visiting the Sunday school classes to encourage donations. This money will be designated for the Christmas project for orphans. We will be adopting the wish lists for Christmas presents for local foster children at the Alabama Baptist Children's home. This wish list will consist of approximately $125.00 worth of toys and gifts per child. Additionally, if you feel led, clothes may be purchased for each child. Our goal is to fill the wish lists of at least 6 children for Christ this Christmas. The gifts will need to be purchased and turned into the ABCH by the second week in December. We will have the Blessing of the Gifts and Children at the Wednesday night service before the gifts are received by the Alabama Baptist Children's home. If you wish to shop you may request the wish list of one or more children, purchase the gifts and be reimbursed for the money spent or you may want to simply donate the gifts of one or more children. Or you may want to just donate your dollars and loose change to the fund each week. As you can see there are plenty of opportunities and ways to get involved to bless these little ones for Christ and to make your Christmas one that is Christ centered be serving the least of these. Thank you Coaling Baptist for your heart of service and for all the times you have shown your love for Christ by serving these little ones as unto the Lord Himself.

Women on Mission at Coaling Baptist- Special speaker about Adoption

This month for the Women on Missions meeting Tim Foster will be the guest speaker. He will tell about how God led he and his wife Mandy to adopt Seth, a little boy from Guatemala, several years ago. God clearly showed them in several ways this was the little one for them. Tim is one of the owners of the Pottery Grill. Mandy taught 1st and 2nd grades at Vance Elementary before taking a leave of absence to bring Seth home.
All are invited to come and hear their story, men and women, at Coaling Baptist Church on Sept. 28th at 6:30pm in the new fellowship hall.

Heart Gallery Exhibition at Ferguson Center in Oct

Hello to all,

Defend the Orphans fall focus is to help promote the Heart Gallery Alabama exhibition that will be held at the U of A Ferguson Center for the entire month of Oct. The organization displays professional portraits of the children in Alabama who are waiting to be adopted. Please come to the see the exhibition any time that month. You are invited to a reception on Oct. 20th at 5:30 pm with refreshments, special speaker Deontay Wilder, entertainment by the Alabama Blues Project and information tables with available social workers to help you learn more about adoption. Please visit their web site at www.HeartGalleryAlabama.com for more information about this organization.

Hope to see all of you there and pray for these children to find forever homes. DTO is taking a stand for the orphan as we are instructed in Is 1:17 to Defend the Orphans. HGA also is taking a strong stand for these children who need to be adopted and we really need to support their effort.

Love in Christ
Lauree Spurlin

Blessings Galore!!!

I feel like I have had Blessings Galore!!! This summer has been filled with blessings as far as getting to help orphans and foster children. Defend the Orphans Ministry has been able to help supply school supplies to children at Big Oak Ranch, Alabama Baptist Children's Home in Gardendale and will help with DHR foster children soon. It is such a blessing to help meet those needs and to serve these children as unto the Lord.
Please pray for us to have direction for the fall and winter to know what God has for us to do next.
As always please email me if you would like to help in any of our projects.