USA (MNN) — Orphan
Outreach is five years old.
Orphan
Outreach spokeswoman, Tiffany Taylor says when they launched the ministry, the
six founders had no idea they were embarking on such a big project right before
a huge economic downturn. However, she
notes, "Over the last five years,
we have grown every year as a ministry. That's hard to imagine during these
economic times. We've been able to grow financially, we've grown in the amount
of people that go on mission teams with us, and we've grown in the amount of
children we've been able to reach."
They've also overseen
the expansion of ministry into five new countries. What did they do differently from other
groups? Orphan Outreach focused on
long-term care, which in most cases included investment in education. "Most
of our programs are very education-focused on how we're equipping these orphans so that when they
graduate from the orphanage at 18, they can go back and live in their communities independently
and make a difference in their communities through the jobs that they have, [and]
through helping spread the Gospel."
The mission of Orphan Outreach: "It's 'one child, one Savior, one mission' — forever changing that one
child to go and make an impact."
Orphan Outreach will celebrate its Fifth Anniversary on April 12,
2012. Featured guests from Guatemala,
Lourdes and Teresa Murguia — Directors of Little House of Refuge, will be there
to share about what the partnership with Orphan Outreach has meant to their
orphanage and the children they serve. Cesar Eguizabal — Orphan Outreach Guatemala
Program coordinator, will also share about the impact of their Guatemalan
ministry.
"All of our programs come alongside the local
church or the local evangelical nationals of those countries that are working with
us to go in and make a difference for those children," says Taylor.
Their
teams work to improve the safety and security of the children and help improve
conditions to foster better health and sanitation. But there is one priority: "We've just got to get the Gospel to
these children. In so many countries all over the world, the orphan need is
overwhelming, their physical needs are overwhelming. But the most important
need is their spiritual need."
Orphan
Outreach is looking for volunteers who can help with light construction work, painting,
and other similar tasks. They also need people who simply delight in feeding
and holding babies and interacting with children of all ages. Really, says Taylor, it's an investment in
love.
We
have more details about the ministry in our Featured Links Section.
