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.  

Child of the Week - Beauty

~  Beauty  ~

This beautiful girl in the orange shirt is named, Beauty.  Yes, most of the girls at this age range have very short hair.  It is a school requirement.  Beauty was born April 14, 2004 which makes her 8 years old.  Beauty was abandoned when she was 2 years old.  Her mother had passed away and no one in her family would agree to care for her so they abandoned her near a hospital.  Beauty stayed at that hospital for 3 months until she was taken by the social welfare department.  The department worker contacted Fatima, our fearless orphanage director and so became a part of the orphanage immediately.  Beauty has been in the orphanage for a little more than 5 years.  When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she says she'd like to be a nurse.  I am not sure what her birth name was as it is very common for the children to receive a new name when they are rescued.  It is symbolic in making a new and better life.  Isn't she a beauty? 

I took this photograph in December 2011.  This expression that you see on her face is the one I most regularly see.  I think she is still trying to figure me out.  She is shy toward me but as she gets a little older I believe that will change!  Beauty will be a part of the sponsorship program we are launching in the 4th quarter of this year.  Stay tuned.  If you have any messages or questions for Beauty, please post them here and I will exchange them with our sweet Fatima and try to get you a response soon.

Beauty is almost smiling in the photo above.  

To make a donation or to become a regular monthly partner with Beautiful Feet Global Outreach, please visit our website.  Thank you!  www.beautifulfeetgo.org 

3,2,1... ACTION!

Howdy!  I hope you enjoyed the video update.  Honestly, it made me nervous but it sure felt personal and that is what I want.  Next week I'll post a video about our tax return.  Seriously y'all are gonna need some popcorn and your favorite beverage because it's gonna be good!

Don't forget to subscribe to the blog post updates.  Also you can follow us on twitter and pinterest both at @bfgomelissa.  And please find us on Facebook also.  It's easy... just search Beautiful Feet Global Outreach, and BAM, there we'll be.

Love to each of you in the precious name of Jesus!

Melissa Irwin
Founder ~ Executive Director

EXCITING NEWS!

Friends!  I'm beside myself with joy.  I don't even really have good news, I'm just feeling an overall sense of calm and knowing that God is in control.  He is at work and I'm anticipating His glory like never before!

Here is what I do know!  BFGO is going to increase and improve communication with our community of donors, prayer warriors and friends.  Be on the lookout for a more efficient and informative blog.  Very soon we will implement regular updates to include:

• BFGO financial statements
• Child spotlights - yes, we'll be doing feature stories on the orphans
• adoption stories
• Down syndrome adoption stories
• Lambshops - item of the week  (https://beautifulfeetgo.lambshops.com)
• EXACTLY how monthly donations are spent
• stories of faith and inspiration

We are going to establish a Facebook group that will be completely private.  This group will be only for donors and prayer warriors.  It will be a place for us to share sensitive information that we cannot post on the blog or blast in email newsletters because we'll have to know exactly who our audience is.  Please email me at melissa@beautifulfeetgo(dot)org if you want to be invited into that group.  You'll need to provide me with your facebook information as well!

We are partnering with some bloggers to do some fantastic giveaways including jasper and t-shirts!  You'll find out about those here at this blog, so I'm requesting that you sign up for the automatic email feed.

And finally, my most exciting announcement...  in August when I return to Zim I'll be organizing a sponsorship program.  There will be at least 3 ways to get involved.  We will have programs for (1) school fees (2) Staff sponsorship (zim staff)  (3) Project sponsorship.  **We will begin offering a correspondence program between the children, staff and donors.  I could not be more excited about this!  You'll get to bond through correspondence with a Zim orphan or caretaker.  

PRAY WITH US AND FOR US.  GOD IS MOVING MIGHTILY.  WE KNOW IT AND WE FEEL IT.  May God bless each of you beyond your wildest imaginations!  

Yield

**(starting off with a note of praise)  Last week I received an email from our warrior leader in Zimbabwe giving us reason to rejoice.  It is such a sweet experience to get to rejoice from time to time although the daily struggles are still very  present.  BFGO funded the maize crop.  You might recall that we provided funds to purchase seed and fertilizer, and to hire additional help to plant the crops, last August.  The crop was harvested a couple of weeks ago and it has been determined that there is enough to feed the orphanages for a year (Sudza - their staple food) with a little left over to sell.  Praise Jesus!  The amount left over to sell isn't much, but "every little bit helps"... the mantra we will never stop repeating!  So, please rejoice with us!  Planting and praying has yielded a sufficient harvest.  Amen to that!

I have been moved this morning in my quiet time to think about this word, "yield".  This word often causes me a great deal of stress.  14 or so years ago I entered the sector of financial services.  I served in retirement planning, wealth management and trust administration.  It was all about "yield".  Everyone wanted a hefty return on their investment, a strong yield.  Of course, we all want that, even in ways that have nothing to do with finances.  I want to yield children with strong character.  We want to yield praise and recognition for the work we do.  At the core of each of us, we want to yield something.  And then we want more.

My pastor, Pete Wilson, of Cross Point Church has been leading us through a series based on his new book "Empty Promises".  I'm halfway through the book so far and loving it.  Pete addresses that we continually fall for the lie that something earthly will fulfill us when in fact, only God can fulfill us and give us our needs and even satisfy our wants.  I'm beginning to look at it this way, in this life we will only be satisfied with what we "yield" in Christ, through His Spirit.  In Christ we yield hope, peace, joy, love and all other "fruits of the Spirit".  There is no greater return than what the Spirit produces in us and through us for the harvest of His Kingdom.

So, where does this leave BFGO?  As the leader of this organization there is much that I want to see yielded through our sacrificial efforts.  I want to be able to testify to more food, more school fees, more hearts of orphans surrendered to Christ, more encouragement to our Orphanage Director in Zim, more awareness about orphans who are not up for adoption, more support for missionaries, more gifts of adoption grants given to those on the adoption journey...   more for them.  More.  For them.

This week I was traveling on an interstate that is under construction.  I was shocked to have to learn in the moment, without warning, that the "on ramp" had been shifted considerably and it no longer "merged" into the traffic.  (Major death trap in my opinion!!)  I was on this on-ramp and had to slam on my brakes and completely "yield" to the traffic instead.  In this case I had to come to a dead stop and wait until a considerable window of visibility opened up for me to sneak into the pack.  When the opportunity came up for me, since I was starting from 0 (mph) I had to gun it, just for my survival and for those around me.  I feel like that is where we are with BFGO.  We have been so blessed to reach our peer group in a grass roots effort, but unless we gun it now, we are probably going to die.  Why?  Because the Zim orphanages need about double our current support just to stay afloat, and we believe that God has called us to do that.  We believe that He is using BFGO for this provision from Him.  We have to ramp it up.  He is looking for our faith, hope and obedience to increase so that He can yield a return of abundance, for His glory.

Could you help us gun it?  We are currently raising about $25,000 per year for the Zim kiddos and we need to raise $50,000 just for them.  Just to cover their basic needs ranging from school fees, food, house rentals, staff salaries, clinic visits, crop expenses, the chicken project, the peanut butter project, etc.  If you join with BFGO as a monthly partner and share about our ministry, it will happen.  You can set your monthly giving at any amount you choose.  Will you blog about us, tweet us, like us on facebook, share us with your "in real life" networks?  This is the point at which God has indicated that we reach out further, that we proclaim His precious name louder, that we yield to Him and yield in His name.  We will.  Will you?

Donations can be set up at www.beautifulfeetgo.org.   And please consider buying a copy of "Empty Promises" by Pete Wilson by using our BFGO Lambshops site.  To make the purchase, click HERE and then search Barnes & Noble.  From there, search "Pete Wilson" where you can also pick up a copy of his first book, "Plan B".  By the way, the Empty Promises series at Cross Point has been awesome.  You can find and listen to the services here.  **Every purchase made through our Lambshops site earns free money for BFGO.  You can go through us for all of your shopping needs.

God bless!  As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

In Christ,

Melissa Irwin
Executive Director

T-Shirts $19 OR $23

Hey friends of BFGO!  I'm so excited to share that we now have some sweet t-shirts that you can proudly wear to display your support or fondness for BFGO and our mission!  We've got tons of t-shirts and we are making them available to you!  For a minimum donation of $19 we will happily send you a t-shirt.  If you need to have it shipped to you, we'd be so thankful if you would please pitch in a couple of dollars to cover shipping too... so for that please make it $23.

You will need to go to our main website and click on "donate".  We have a new donation platform that is more effecient and less costly than paypal.  You'll need to register there and then submit a donation to the "greatest need" category.  When we receive donations in the amount of $19 or $23, we will know it is for a t-shirt and someone will contact you to make the arrangement to get it to you!

In Unisex style soft shirt - please indicate S, M, L or XL.  The photographs you see below are the unisex shirt!  We also have a ladies fit which looks EXACTLY the same but is more fitted to a female figure.  We have these in sizes S, M & L - but be informed... these shirts run small!  If you typically wear a medium, I would order a Large in the ladies fitted T.  If you typically wear a large, I would order a unisex shirt instead.

This is the BACK of our t-shirts!

This LOGO is the FRONT of our t-shirts!

Front/Left - Back/Right

Awesome, huh?  C'mon peeps!  Proceeds from the shirts will help pay for school fees for 60 children in Zim, due in May.  Please also help us spread the word!  THANKS TO MARK MABRY FOR THE T-SHIRT DESIGN AND TO ARENA IMPRINTS FOR THE PRINTING SERVICES AND THE ADDITIONAL SHIRTS THEY TOSSED IN AT NO EXTRA CHARGE!  Please ORDER HERE! by clicking the "donate" button.

I'm Going To Offend You, Boldly ~ because He asks me to

Do you ever go through times in your spiritual journey where everything points to or speaks to the same thing over and over, like a theme in your life?  I am very much going through that right now.  In my personal life, every message, bible study, devotional and so on are pointing to my communities and friendships.  The Spirit's relentless pursuit of my heart is overwhelming.  And shocking at times.  In regards to my role in BFGO, every message, bible study, devotional and so on are pointing to something I'd like to  pass on.  Bold offense.  Oh Lord have mercy!

On Friday I was in Ohio attending an Orphan Care Summit.  I was blessed to stay with a precious blog friend and her family.  I was quickly introduced to her mother-in-law who is a missionary to Kenya.  We shared stories before leaving for the Summit.  She encouraged me to hear whatever God would speak to me.  I received her encouragement without much thought about it.  10 minutes into the conferenc sitting beside poor Marla, I began to sob.  The video screen was going back and forth between images of orphans living in poverty and the statitistics of what Americans spend annually on Starbucks, beauty products, and all of the other frivolous things we have convinced ourselves that we need.  The statistics were offensive.  The images of the children in poverty were offensive.  And I was sobbing.  Partially because I know and I get it. And partially because I'm guilty.  My toes are a pretty shade of pink as I type.

The thing is I'd love to remind my readers and anyone I have a platform to reach is that the majority of the world lives on less than $2 a day and we can solve it.  But I fear offending people.  I'd love to share that if we gave up coffee we could feed the world, but I don't want my friends to roll their eyes and walk away.  I'd love to point out that we were born into a greedy nation and that every one of us is guilty of making it greedier.  But I don't want to make you feel bad.  I want you to like me.

When we returned back to Marla's house after the first night of the conference, her MIL asked me "So what did you learn? Wait... let me rephrase that, what did God show you?"  I stood silent for a moment and then realized exactly what He was telling me.  He is telling me to "get boldly offensive".  And I so don't want to.  I really don't.  But scritpure says I can serve God or serve man.  I really want to serve God.  And the bible teaches that I can take the easy "lukewarm" way OR His way.  His way calls for obedience.  He is telling me to get offensive and I want to be obedient.  Because the truth is bold.  And the truth is offensive, not because we disagree with it, but because it makes us uncomfortable.

So in this beginning journey of being bold and offensive, I've decided to fall onto the recent writing by Beth Moore in her Bible Study "James, Mercy Triumphs".  She points through all of scripture to indicate that we are to serve the poor, without exception.  And to remember the orphans and widows.  We are not just to care about them but to literally care for them.    See Deut 15:11; Proverbs 17:5; 19:17; 31:8-9 just for starters.  Beth writes "Scripture refers to the poor or poverty-stricken hundreds of times from Exodus to Revelation.  The concept is so constant that, from a Bible student's standpoint, it's virtually impossible to remember God and forget the poor.  The point is not to stir up guilt.  It's to stir up giving.  Simply put, we who have are to open our hands in complete humility to those who don't."  
In another section of the same study on James, Beth says "If you and I worked among the poverty-stricken every single day, we would be willing to speak at any volume and beat down any door in their defense." Well, guess what?  I do work among them.  She further writes "We who are not presently assiged to serve those of humbler means in our workplaces must constantly tune our ears to the voices of those who are.".  So, this is my voice.  I'm speaking volumes.  Can you please tune in?

BFGO is but one organization serving those in poverty; those who are orphaned.  There are many.  If you are not currently opening up your hand to serve with what you have, would you do so now?  If not with us, would you commit to being generous with your means and your resources by pouring into some chartible organization who is dedicated to serving the poor?  For Christians, for those of us who claim to love God, this is non-negotiable.  No one is exempt.  And with the wealth we have as Americans, we have no excuse.  None.  So, would you give up your coffee to provide water to a thirsty child?  Would you forego a pedicure and cute toes to send a child in Zim to school?  Would you sacrifice a yummy dinner at your favorite restaurant to feed several people instead?  If you are paying to send your child to private school, could you spare a little more for one less fortunate?  Is this too bold?  Are you offended?
You can join the offense and get in the game or you can remain defensive.  It doesn't change the truth.

Tomorrow a newsletter is going out about a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT that I cannot share on the world-wide-web.  But it involves an opportunity to help one girl, right now.  If you'd like to know more please go to our website and sign up for the newsletter.

Thanks so much!

~ Melissa Irwin ~
Executive Director