Introducing Midwin

I have been captivated by the smile of this child since I first met her in 2008.  Midwin and her two brothers have been living at the orphanage since 2006.  Their parents both passed away of diseases, first their mother in 05 and then their father in 06.  There wasn't anyone who was willing to take care of the children so they were entered into the orphanage.  Midwin was born on May 12, 1998.  Her favorite bible verse is 1 John 4:7  "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."  Sweet Midwin, she is typically so quiet in my presence.  I'm hoping to peel away some of her layers in August and learn more about who she is.  The 2 photos above are from December 2011.  The 2 below are from April 2011.

If you would like to sponsor Midwin for school fees and essentials, please let me know.  Our sponsorship program (web program) will launch officially in October, however.. we can start you off as a monthly donor now and transition you to the sponsorship program in the fall if you'd like to go ahead and impact this beautiful girl!  God bless!

A Squeeze For Sweet Ruth

This is Ruth. 

Ruth was born on Aug. 25, 2002.  Ruth may have missed school in her early years due to lack of finances within her family because she has just recently completed grade 1.  While I am not certain of how long Ruth has been at the orphanage, it has been confirmed for me that her mother died and that someone drove Ruth to the center of the city and abandoned her there.  Ruth is precious and sweet.  The thing that stands out in my mind about her is that she is a bit shorter than the other kids her age but twice as solid.  Every time I hug her and go to lift her off the ground, I'm reminded of how powerful her little body feels.  I can barely hold her.  She's heavy.  I wonder if she's carrying all of that heaviness in her heart or in her memory.  These abandonment's really break my heart.

Abandonment is a common practice and a theme that you might begin to recognize as we continue to feature a different child every week.  I am sure that many of our readers have traveled and served in 3rd world countries but to those of you who may not have had that experience yet, it is truly eye opening.  So many countries in Africa have very small concentrated areas of wealth while the vast majority have nothing.  Most governments are not "for the people" but for the concentrated groups of the wealthy and they are operated like kingdoms instead of governments.  This sets up little abandoned sweethearts like Ruth to suffer; not having anything for today or for the scope of her tomorrows. Unfortunately the flaws are not likely to get worked out in Ruth's lifetime.  Mommas will continue to die of Aids and nearby acquaintances will continue to take orphaned kids and drop them off in the center of the city to wait for the trash collectors to figure out what to do with them.

I recently came across two sets of statistics about this country...(Zim.bab.we).  Between data provided by both Unicef and CIA it seems that there are between 1.5 - 2 million orphans in this country.  Keep in mind that this country is smaller than Texas.  Only 2% of these children have a safe place to stay and the majority are not receiving an education.  While I do not know what God has planned for their futures, I know that He has called us to make it broader, wider, deeper and more hopeful.  He has asked us to sew into the least of these by giving up the most of ourselves, for Him.

Thank you so much to all who do that with and for BFGO.  If I could pick up each one of you and squeeze you I would.  

Here I am squeezing Ruth...

Ruth needs an education sponsor and an essentials sponsor.  

Please consider going to bat for sweet Ruth.

God bless all,

melissa irwin

executive director

www.beautifulfeetgo.org

This is Jackson....

 **Update** - Jackson's photo did not display properly when first posted.

This is Jackson.

Jackson is one of three siblings who were rescued and brought to the orphanage.  They arrived in 2009.  Their parents both passed away of HIV/Aids.  Jackson is 10.  DOB 2/10/2002.

I can't wait to see Jackson in August.  He is a mysterious one... can't you tell?  He seems to wear the expression of hard life on his young face.  I've been staring at his photo for 10 minutes and it has truly drawn me in.  Who will he grow up to be?  Will he grow up at all?  I pray in his heart that he knows he is loved.

Jackson needs a sponsor.  His school fees at this age and level cost $110 per session, or $330 per year.  Would you please consider sponsoring Jackson?  He also needs a sponsor for essentials.

Jackson is in the photo above at far right looking straight at the camera.  What a smile!

God bless.

melissa irwin

executive director

beautiful feet global outreach, inc.

www.beautifulfeetgo.org

Child of the Week - Meet "Pretty

I'd love to know a lot more about this tender child than I do.  She has never shared a single intimate detail of her life with me.  Quiet.  Wordless.  Guarded heart.  Even her hugs for me are quick and loose, letting go before she truly latches on.  But she is pretty.  "Pretty".

Details come to me from leadership.  This is all I may ever know.  Pretty was abandoned in the city of Harare.  A relative left her in a busy district and claimed that she was going to guy buy some food and other essentials and would return soon.  She never returned.  A good samaritan found her and took her to the police station to seek safety.  The police took her to the hospital for a medical checkup and soon she was accepted at the orphanage in Zim.  She hasn't been there much more than a year, I believe.

Pretty was born on July 15, 2000 - so she is 11, very soon to be 12 years old.  Her favorite bible verse is John 3:16 (yes, Lord).  Her favorite subject in school is English.

Pretty needs a sponsor for school fees and also for essentials.  We will officially launch our sponsorship program in the fall but please don't hesitate to contact me here if you would like to go ahead and sign up for Pretty.

God bless!

Child of the Week - Tadiwa

This is our beautiful child of the week.  Her name is Tadiwa.  She is incredibly special to me for reasons I might not be able to explain, because at the heart of me I'm not totally sure.  She is the least verbal child that I've met at the orphanages.  I'm not clear as to whether she can or cannot speak as she has had some developmental challenges.  I have seen first hand that she understands the language of love... her heart bounces forth from those beautiful eyes.  She loves hugs, without a doubt.  She regularly tries to sneak one from me... and you know what I do... I give her all the hugs she wants.

Tadiwa is almost 6 years old and has been at the orphanage since she was 3.  Her father died and the whereabouts of her mother have been unknown since Tadiwa was about 1 or 2 years old.  This beautiful girl has escaped some horrific attempts to harm her, but her time in the orphanage seems to have calmed and eased her once dark memories.  This second photo of her with a wide open smile... this is how I know her.  God bless this precious child.

A sponsorship will be available for Tadiwa in the fall of this year.  Please consider providing for her school fees and others costs to cover her care.  She is a very special treasure!

God bless you all!

With Hope in Christ,

Melissa Irwin
Founder / Executive Director

Child of the Week - Deborah

~  Deborah  ~

My heart skips a beat every time I see this precious angel face.  Isn't she just stunning in every way?  Deborah is 3 1/2.  Her birthday is November 13, 2008.  Deborah came into the orphanage when she was just 2 weeks old.  She had been abandoned by her mother in a valley soon after her delivery.  She was discovered the next morning by students who were walking to school because they heard a baby crying.  The baby's umbilical cord was still uncut and the baby was still covered in blood. The police were notified and they took this sweet beautiful baby girl to a hospital where she was placed in an incubator for two weeks and then was taken into care by the orphanage where she has effectively lived her whole life.  She is a precious bundle and always carries the warmth that you see above.  I love to squeeze her and kiss those precious cheeks.  

Updates & Angels

Because of some generous funds received over the past few days we will be wiring at least 1 months rent for each house in Zim on Tuesday of next week.  That will cover May.  We desire to also raise enough to cover June and July....of course...but we are so grateful that God used a precious handful of people to come up with one month so far.  God bless each and every....and the greatest thanks to God the Father who is working in our hearts and teaching us about bits and pieces.  (I love you Lord!)


We are grateful to Chiropractic Nashville who is partnering with us in a fundraiser for the month of July.  We are ecstatic that they will be offering a very special deal to new patients, as well as to existing patients..just for making donations.  They are a GREAT small business who serve the Lord with their hearts, finances and other resources.  God bless your business!


We are grateful to 2 Nashville/Franklin based antique business operators who have pledged 10% of their monthly profits (ongoing) to Beautiful Feet G.O.  This chokes me up on the highest levels.  They are both women of God who serve with FIRE and PASSION and have immeasurable levels of hope.  One of them stated to me on the phone this morning that they dream of being our biggest donor someday.  Well, hallelujah, praise the King!  I pray that too!  LOVE YOU SO MUCH.  You can visit their new blog and find their locations at Vintage Shabby Chicks.  


Mark Mabry - Mark is a web developer, graphic designer, marketing specialist...extraordinaire!  I cannot thank Mark enough for all he has done to launch our web presence and various graphic needs.  He recently designed this incredible poster to be displayed at Chiropractic Nashville for their July fundraiser!  And ProGraphics of Nashville donated the printing, mounting, laminating and framing at Mark's request.  Seriously y'all...... blessings coming together...it rocks my world!

**please click on poster to enlarge it for easy readability.  

And lastly but far from least....  to my friends Kim & Bryan who have just recently launched their business and charitable organization...  Eraselets and Erase World Hunger.  They have pledged for Erase World Hunger to serve Beautiful Feet Global Outreach as soon as they can be funded.  Their product, Eraselets....is a fantabulous eraser bracelet with incredible designs so fun for kids.  Some of their designs include scriptures.  They are currently close to getting their product sold in a MAJOR Christian retail store as well as a MAJOR mainstream retail outlet.  God has already worked some heavy miracles in their lives and we are believing Him for greater miracles to come.  Some day (maybe soon)...they will be able to help Beautiful Feet G.O. do incredible work for the Kingdom in serving these precious orphans globally.


Everyone who impacts us big and small is an angel to us.  We understand how God works....one of His favorite ways to bless us is through other people.  When we say you are a blessing...we really mean that. God used you......

My humble appreciation goes out to all,

Melissa Irwin

Orphans....EVICTED!

Ok - I kinda need you to "get this"...whoever you are.  Please share on facebook and retweet on Twitter.  PLEASE (humbly begging).  We have a crisis.

Like you, I am tired of (me) being in the business of crisis aversion....but this seems to be our track for the time.  Just when we think we are about to get ahead of the curve and course about a reasonable ebb and flow of receiving/giving....something bigger than us falls into the middle of the plate and shatters it into bits.

Here is the short nitty gritty.  Our partner and orphanage director in Zimbabwe has been using 3 houses in Zim as orphanage homes for almost 6 years.  In all of this time they have never had to pay rent.  That's right....kind generous people who didn't need the houses (and couldn't really sell them for much)...just decided to let Fatima use them until further notice.  Well.....further notice is now.  Fatima CAN continue to use these 3 houses and the 4th house that she is using as a "transitional" home right now for some of the older kids.....BUT....she must start paying rent.  And well, she was supposed to start paying rent in May.  She hasn't.  If she doesn't (and how can she?)..... then they have to all vacate and go....nowhere.

So, to add to the expenses of food, electricity, water, school fees, clothing, etc.....there is now the added monthly expense of rent.  We (BFGO) would be honored to cover this for them (worthy, beautiful, precious, deserving children).... but we do not have the funds.  We were aiming for being able to pay for food and school fees for the entire year....but obviously without a roof....we can do nothing.  I am going to copy and paste the email exchange between Fatima and myself.  I asked her what she needs right away....(if) there was anything at all...since the next round of school fees are not due until September).

In OTHER news....we have been communicating with the IRS and I think we are getting so so close to good news (and praying for it!)

We are so grateful for our monthly donors....and we do not want to ask you for more...so that is not what this is about.  If you have never given to Beautiful Feet GO OR if you could help us spread the word we would be forever grateful.  There are 55+ incredibly hopeful and loving children (orphans) on the other side of the world that we are praying will not lose the only home they know.  You can be a blessing!  Please help if you can.  We are so humbly grateful!

{email from Fatima}  -----I had specifically asked her in a previous email what their greatest needs are besides school fees.

Dear Precious Melissa,

Thank you for the exciting news that you want to visit the children once more. You are more than welcome. The best time to do this visit would be the 1st of December up to the time when you want to leave. This will give children a nice break especially after a hectic week of exams. Let me know about your schedule for the intended visits.

We desperately need GOD's intervention regarding finances to settle our rentals and water and electricity.  we have gone for two months without paying rentals and if GOD does not intervene we can be evicted. The rentals payable for four properties are US$ 2300 per month and we would need about US$ 2 500 to settle our water and electricity bills[ these have gone unpaid for sometime now] but the normal for all our properties would be us$ 500.

we thank GOD for a gift from Larissa. she informed me and Phillip that she had collected a few laptops that she could give to someone coming to Zimbabwe. Please could you bring them for us? these will go a long way by assisting the various units to do a continous update of the children's bio data.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU OUR CHAMPION.

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

fatima for all




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