KYRGYZSTAN UPDATE

LAWS 

CULTURAL NORMS AND 

LOTS OF CHALLENGES

BUT 

A 

COMMITMENT

TO 

FOLLOWING 

THE LAWS

Our team in Kyrgyzstan is awesome and doing a great job.  First, Dasha (Dayspring) had eye surgery today.  All went well and she is back home.  We are praying this will help her in school, as it has been most difficult for her to read and complete homework assignments.  Remember, she had NEVER gone to school up to the age of 7 - as she had a heart condition.  After surgery for this, we were able to get a doctors release to allow her to go to school.  Learning is a new experience for her.

Lots of other things we really cannot share, but one that is most interesting - the Vice Minister of Social Service will visit Tokmok and our local authorities will be showing them Jeremiah House - celebrating what Tokmok is doing regarding gender politics.

And Olga is learning all the laws to ensure our youth and children are well protected.  The laws and cultural norms don't always agree on process and procedure.  We want to honor the country laws and learn them well and to be cautious in all we do.  We have great plans and we need to cooperation of the authorities to ensure we can move forward to what we are being called to do.

BIRTHDAY AT DAYSPRING

HOME TODAY - AND HEALING - DASHA

DASHA AND MOM OLGA

WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS UPDATE

LAMb INTERNATIONAL

Committed to Making a Difference

Ephesians 4:12

Our focus is to....equip and activate....

Clearly across the world, the Holy Spirit has released the call to the church to step up and become active in defending the orphan, making sons and daughters of the King.

The Spirit of Adoption is so prevalent across the lands.  Yet there are many countries that do not allow adoption and others that just don't know how to create a process for adoption.  Over the last couple of months, LAMb International has been involved with the WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS team sharing and encouraging countries in their own movement to STAND for the orphan.  In order to give you a little update, we are sending you a copy of the update newsletter from WWO.  It will help you to understand some of the movement. 

The movement of WWO is not just about adoption.  It is about many different ways you or the church can become involved in defending the orphan - and helping children leave the state of orphanhood and come into the Kingdom of Heaven as Sons and Daughters of their Heavenly Father.  The church is getting the call and each and everyone of us CAN do something!

DEFENDING THE ORPHAN REQUIRES COMMITMENT AND STEPPING OUT IN FAITH

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR

STAY TUNED

NEST WEEK!
We are going to present a  DISCUSSION GUIDE that we believe will be helpful to the World Without Orphan countries.  Our facilitation team will be presenting the ideas in Bangkok at the 4/14 Window Summit this week.  Along with the guide we will be working with the facilitation team of WWO to begin to map out more of how we can bring resources and training into their countries.  The guide?

 - helping churches consider their opportunities in how they can defend the orphan.

The guide was developed by Judy Rycus, Program Manager at the Institute for Human Services in Columbus, Ohio.  

And....just think of all the possibilities.  Churches working together from all over the world to make a difference.  Can you see the potential impact?

AFTER THIS?

HOW ABOUT SEVEN MONTHS FOCUSED IN EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA.

WITH JUST A LITTLE BREAK IN BETWEEN

Part 1 of the Training Series for Trainers

BUILDING TRAUMA COMPETENT HEALING CAREGIVERS

February 18- 20, 2014

Sponsored by Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) and LAMb International

SIGN UP SOON

YES, YOU HEARD RIGHT,

 THE JOHNSTON'S ARE HEADING EAST

LEAVING DECEMBER 10TH

Short return in February for the above Training of Trainers

BACK TO KYRGYZSTAN

 FEBRUARY 24TH UNTIL ABOUT THE END OF JUNE

Back in time for Part 2 of the training series noted above.

Our focus in Central Asia and Eastern Europe?

Dayspring Family Life Resource Center - Kyrgyzstan

Helping to Promote Building a Foster Care Program - Kyrgyzstan

 (focus on two areas)

Jeremiah Project - Kyrgyzstan 

(graduating orphans - with no place to go)

Discovery Project - Kyrgyzstan 

(working to build a program where those who are disabled can find hope and dignity)

ILDC - Ukraine

(strengthening for national sustainability)

PLUS?  Only as God Leads.

24 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED - AND PERHAPS A SAFETY NET STARTED

Including persons joining us on skype.

BUILDING A TEAM FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO ARE TRANSITIONING OUT OF THE ORPHANAGES

MOVING TOWARD

A WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS

We called a meeting - and waited - we had 19 eager participants representing 24 countries - (thought we had 17, but two persons did not report all the countries where they are working).

Purpose of the meeting was to address two issues:

1.  Graduating orphans - starting with Ukraine and moving to Kyrgyzstan and other countries.  

2.  Critical skills, knowledge and coaching needed by those who are working with vulnerable youth - orphans in the represented 24 countries noted above and beyond.

Passionate leaders flew in from all over the USA and Ukraine for this meeting.  Each person works in a number of different countries.  Each believe in a WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS.

Here are our goals:

1

Goal 1:

Develop a strategy to bring together different organizations in Ukraine that are working with graduating orphans.  The purpose of bringing them together is to share resources, examine what works and what does not work, to identify programs of excellence and to develop an approach to working with graduating orphans that can be identified as a potential model for other countries struggling with the same questions.  (We are excited to offer this to Kyrgyzstan once it is moving forward.)

Summary Action Plan for Goal #1:

·       Put together a working group of Ukrainians and international members who will:

o   Gather data (who/what/where of orphan graduate transition programs in Ukraine)

o   Write a discussion paper which discusses global best practices in working with older orphans

o   Organize an event for Fall 2014 which would bring together key leaders in this area in Ukraine

Goal 2:

Develop a “template/skeleton” model for an Academy to develop capacity of those persons from other countries who are working with orphans, children and families in crisis.  This draft model would identify both an approach, potential content and process for delivering training and coaching that would ensure national capacity could grow with national trainers and national consultants. 

Summary Action Plan for Goal #2:

• ·       Work with team to identify and vet trainers from around the world who could train under  academy
• ·       Work with team to identify and vet training material

.