Mosaic to Kick off at First Baptist Church, Mansfield

First Baptist Church, Mansfield, kicked off the Mosaic Adoption and Foster care ministry at a very special service on Sunday, January 11th. We had a great day of worship and collected over $500 for our Mosaic adoption fund with Lifesong for Orphans. We had representatives from Buckner International, Covenant Kids, and information from Lifesong for Orphans for the enlightenment of our congregation. We heard a strong message from our pastor, Dr. Johnny Dickerson, about the likeness of God's children being adopted, with full sonship, into God's family, just as His people would adopt an orphaned child. It is the heart of Mosaic to see more orphaned children in Christian homes, where they will know love and protection, as well as receive a clear path to choose Christ. Mosaic will seek to touch the lives of orphans, minister to adoptive families, mentor children, lead mission trips to orphanages around the world, and help to fund adoptions for families wanting to change the lives of orphaned children. Please pray for Mosaic as we seek to do our part in impacting orphaned children in our world.

Lifesong for Orphans tackles Barriers to Adoption

Lifesong and the Mosaic Ministry or First Baptist Church of Mansfield are working together to create an Adoption Fund that would remove the financial barriers that prevent so many children from being adopted – through Adoption Matching Grants.

Here are the Top 3 Barriers to churches creating Adoption Funds...and Lifesong's Solutions to overcome the hurdles.

1. Barrier: Church staff “plate is already full” to administer fund

Solution: Lifesong will manage/facilitate the Fund & carry the administrative load on behalf of church, using mutually agreed upon criteria (reviewing applications, accounting, donor receipts, disbursing funds on behalf of adoption, etc.)

2. Barrier: Church feels uncomfortable/awkward approving/denying their own families (viewing financials, etc.)

Solution: Lifesong will provide all the screening, reviewing, approving/denying as a ‘partner’ on behalf of the church, using mutually agreed upon criteria for those decisions

3. Barrier: Adoption Fund is unfamiliar territory

Solution: Lifesong has passion, and expertise in adoption funding processes, maximize stewardship, use existing grant/loan procedures, IRS approved, ECFA approved (establishes financial integrity & avoids recreating the wheel)

And one of the best aspects….Lifesong manages & administers the Adoption Fund - at no cost to churches!

The Worship Industry

This video is a great reminder of what is really important in worship. To be real with each other and with God; to open ourselves up to what He will do in worship is, indeed, more important than what we do or don't do in worship.

IBESR!

In our long and tiring adoption process, we have already moved from "First Legal" into "IBESR". I don't really know what those titles mean, but I do know that it is progress, and that's what we're looking for! Stephanie, our adoption agent with A Love Beyond Borders, called me to let me know that we'd moved on to this step on FATHER'S DAY! Can you beat that? What a blessing that was.
Wendy and I are anxiously awaiting our next trip to Haiti to see our kids in August and it cannot come fast enough! In fact, we are just wishing that it was this trip we were bringing Marie Ange and Jameson home, but it will still be a while for that. So, we wait and pray that God will expedite everything as only He can.

Our Haiti Trip

What an amazing trip Wendy and I had in Haiti! We experienced so many amazing things and saw God move in amazing ways! We had the opportunity to pass out Bibles to the workers at the orphanage and at the guest house to all of the adult workers. The cool thing was that these were bibles given to us by Brian Lundy, who has worked with the Olympic Bible Project at the Olympic games, and were in the Haitian language of Creole. There are very few books written in this language and these precious people were so excited to see any book; let alone a bible, in their native language, that on several occasions they sat down and began to read the bible immediately! It was a huge blessing. Our primary reason was, of course to meet two children in particular whom we'd been asked to pray about adopting. So- meet Marie Ange and Jameson.

Marie Ange is a happy, healthy 7 year old girl in Port Au Prince, Haiti. She is bright, loving and caring and, though she and her brother have been orphaned by their parents for over 18 months now, she is very well adjusted. Marie Ange has the biggest, best dimples in the world when she flashes her smile!

Jameson is Marie Ange’s 5 year old brother. During our visit to the orphanage, he showed himself as a natural born athlete. He loves balls; shooting them, tthrowing them, catching them, spinning them– you name it (he and Caleb will get along fine!). Jameson has a quick and beautiful smile and is amazingly happy and easy going.

The attitude and disposition of these kids is nothing short of miraculous. When you consider what these precious kids have already faced in life, it is very humbling to see their joy in the face of it all. I will never doubt the truth of Psalm 68:5-6: a father of the fatherless and a champion of the widows is God in His holy dwelling. God provides homes to those who are deserted. Our trip was amazing and we definitely fell in love with our new kids! We have about a 10-12 month process left before we will actually bring these kids home, but the Lord is good and will sustain us! Thanks for all of your prayers and please remember the dire circumstances in Haiti and the orphans of this place.

Reaching One Child...

As you may already know, Wendy and I have begun the process of adopting a child from the country of Haiti. Our family is very excited about this endeavor and wanted to let you know a little about our process and plans. First, I want you to know that we feel a clear call from the Lord to do our part in fulfilling God’s command to look after orphan children; as given in James 1: 27:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

This a call that Wendy and I have taken very seriously, and know beyond any doubt that He is calling us to open our home and family to an orphan child. In this way, the Lord will use us to change the life and future of one child. More importantly, there will be a pathway presented to this child to come to know Jesus as her Lord, which otherwise may not have happened. That possibility excites me to no end!

I want to introduce you to our future daughter. Florena is a happy, healthy 4 year old child of color in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Her mother made the difficult decision to release her to the orphanage there after realizing she was not equipped to care for Florena. Haiti is a terribly poor nation, with rampant disease and malnutrition among its people. Haiti is, in fact, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 75% of the population living below poverty level (as determined by World Bank). Unemployment is about 60%, and the literacy rate is about 55%. One in five children will die before their 5th birthday from malnutrition or disease. Out of this kind of difficulty, the Lord will use us to save Florena.

First and foremost, Wendy and I ask for your prayers. As the mountain of paperwork grows and the documents gather, pray that the Lord will help us keep our focus on the goal; to get Florena home. Please begin to pray specifically for Florena as significant changes are imminent. We are not diluted about the adjustment that our family will have to make nor about the effort it will take to make Florena feel comfortable as a part of our family. These are big changes for us and for her, so please join us in praying for her.

The process of adopting internationally is, of course, an expensive one. Wendy and I have sold one vehicle to free up some money for these expenses, but we realize that we cannot handle all of these ourselves. We have partnered with an organization called Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries, whose mission it is to help adoptive families raise funds to adopt children out of difficult circumstances. Through this ministry, individuals can make tax deductible donations to specific adoptive families to help lessen the cost for the family. In this way, you can partner with us in changing Florena’s life for the better. You will have the blessing of knowing that your help contributed to providing Florena with a loving family (with great sisters and an awesome brother), a warm home, and the opportunity to meet Jesus in a saving way. I absolutely hate to ask my friends and family for this kind of help, so I would just ask that you pray about involving yourself with us in this ministry. If you feel it would be a blessing to you, please make a contribution; rest assured it will be a blessing to us.

We will keep all of our contributors up to date on our process by email and provide you with a photo of our completed family once we get Florena home. If you are interested in helping us out and have any questions please call us at home or email us. Also, the Kingdom Kids staff is available to you Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time.) Please contact them at (509) 465-3520 or email them at Ministry@KingdomKidsAdoption.org. Their website is www.KingdomKidsAdoption.org. Donations should be sent directly to Kingdom Kids at 1417 N Lincoln St, Spokane, WA, 99201.

If you decide to assist us in our fundraising and wish to do so by check please DO NOT include our names anywhere on the check. Internal Revenue Service regulations do not allow for a tax-deductible donation to have any name other than the tax-exempt organization written on it. Please enclose a note with your check to indicate that you wish your donation to go toward our grant. Thank you so much.

In Christ Alone,

David and Wendy Peyton

817/453-9682

david.peyton@firstmansfield.com

wrpeyton@sbcglobal.net