Safe Families Haiti

Here is an e-mail that just went out to Grace Community Church. We will try and keep this blog updated with the most recent information. Please check back regularly.

Safe Families

January 19, 2010 Grace Community Church-- This is an unusual e-mail, but these are unusual times. When I suggested this past weekend that it was time for the church to show up in the Haiti crisis none of us had a clue it would mean what you are about to read. Plan A is about to go into action. We took a phone call this evening (Tuesday) from Krista Davis, the director of Safe Families and Agape Families, two of Grace's Frontline ministries. The Department of Children Services (DCS) in Indianapolis has learned that a plane with up to 300 orphans from Haiti will be landing in Indianapolis either tomorrow or Thursday. The children have no place to go, their families are gone, and their country is in shambles. All of these children will need to be placed into homes. We are looking for two things: Families who are willing to take one or two children for a temporary basis, for a minimum of one month. Families who are willing to take children with the possibility of adopting them permanently. Here is a little more background information, at least as much as we know. The children range in age from 1 to 11 years old. They are non-English speakers (Creole), and so DCS is asking that we place children in pairs initially (as much as possible). The children will have medical coverage while they are awaiting their adoptions. Many of them may be infected with lice and ringworm, and so will require treatments. We don't know how malnourished they are or what other medical conditions they might have. Many of these children have scraps of clothes on their back, with nothing else. If you have been through the Safe Families qualification process, or are a qualified foster home, then great! If not, you can still host the children in your home. Fingerprinting and background checks will be required at some point in the process. If you are a family that is in the process of adopting or is considering adoption, this may be an opportunity to receive a child minus the adoption fees. We don't know all of the details, but it appears that DCS and the Federal Government are waiving most of the usual processes in this unusual and desperate scenario. DCS in conjunction with Safe Families and Grace Community Church are beginning to put support systems in place to help with the many needs families will have. You will not be left all alone in this process. But we only just learned of this at 8:30 this Tuesday evening, so good support will take time. We will need pediatricians and doctors initially to help stabilize these children and provide immediate medical attention. James 1:27 says “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.” Grace, we have orphans who are in distress. Please prayerfully consider if you can receive one or more of these children into your home. This is a serious commitment, one you should not take lightly. The implications for your family are extensive. But if God is leading you to consider, then please contact Krista and her team at the following: safefamilieshaiti@gmail.com 317-519-3839 Thank you for considering this seriously, Dave Rodriguez Senior Pastor Grace Community Church