Conversations from the Kiddos

It’s amazing seeing your children grow and develop their personalities. You never know what’s about to happen or what they are going to say next. Like when our Noah said “Dad… Dana’s whining.” and Manuel says “Noah is stabbing her (with a plastic knife)” to which I replied “Well Noah, people are going whine when you stab them.”

Or when we were taking Noah to the E.R. after he had split his chin open and Gerardo said “Dad, is Noah dead?” to which Noah spoke up abruptly… “I’m NOT dead Gerardo!”

Well, we were in our room yesterday and David was helping me put together our monthly newsletters and he comes over to us and hands us $20. He then says “Mom and Dad, I wanna support you so we can bring more orphans into our home.”

You know those times as a parent when your kid says something to you and you just don’t really know what to say? I mean, most of the time they will come up to you and ask you questions about history, games, their friends or other things going on in their lives. Conversations usually just happen and because you are 22 years older than your kid, you most likely know the answer.

I love the surprises being a father brings; the out of the blue statements when your kid just melts your heart.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – Vote for the Loux Family!

Our family has been dramatically impacted by Derek and Renee Loux (http://louxfamilyblog.com). We met Derek and Renee a few years ago and their heart to care for the orphan, the ones no one else wanted, helped to shape what the Lord was doing in our own hearts. Derek and Renee’s vision to care for orphans played a huge part in our adoption of Manuel, Gerardo and Dana.

Just over a year ago Derek died in a car accident.  Renee’ is now a single mother with 13 children, four of which have special needs.  Renee continues to trumpet the cause of the orphan and is the president and spokesperson for Orphan Justice Center.  This non-profit organization is committed to speaking up for the most vulnerable of children – the 163 million orphans worldwide.  Since Derek’s death, Renee’ and her family have brought home two more children who were in desperate need of medical attention. In the past year, with Renee’s relentless pursuit for the orphan and her leadership of OJC, she has impacted over 150 adoptions. She is one who is truly making a difference.

Renee and kids live in a 4 bedroom home and have simply run out of space. In addition, their home has three floors and requires Renee to lift Sasha and his wheelchair from level to level so that he can be with the family. I have been to their home and been with the kids.  You can’t help but come away changed after visiting the Loux family.  They are full of life and love, it is remarkable.

Extreme Home Makeover is looking for a deserving family in the state of Missouri, I can’t think of a more deserving family. They have exhausted every available space in their current home and have simply run out of room. Renee doesn’t know the word “No” when it comes to children in need.

Renee has been given 45 acres in Grandview, MO to help her walk out the vision she and Derek had to build a home with space enough to personally take in 30+ orphans. Their dream together was to take in children with special needs and provide them with a loving home where they could be restored and healed. The property will include a creative prayer place for children and lots of room for horticultural therapy, equine therapy and other traditional therapies.

If you would please help them by nominating Renee Loux for this amazing opportunity to be considered for an Extreme Home Makeover.

Its real easy:

DIRECTIONS to nominate them:

Each nomination must include the names, ages of everyone in the house, a description of the major challenges within the home and a short description of the family story.  I have given a sample description  and definition of what is needed in the home, and the list of names.  You can copy and paste then please taylor it with your emphasis.

Email nominations to: CastingMissouri@gmail.com

Nomination for: The Renee Loux Family

Short Description of the family story: Just over a year ago Derek died in a car accident leaving Renee with now 12 kids (10 adpoted, four of which are handicapped).  Renee continued to trumpet the cause of the orphan by taking on two more children after Derek’s death.  Renee and kids live in a 4 bedroom home and have simply run out of space. In addition, their home has three floors and requires Renee to lift Sasha and his wheelchair from level to level so that he can be with the family.

Major challenges within the home: Size and layout are the major challenges.  There are 14 people living in a 4 bedroom home.  Four of the children are handicapped in some way.  There is one wheelchair bound and one blind.  It is a three level house requiring the wheel chair to be lifted between levels. Renee’s dream is to adopt many more and bring restoration to each one.  The only thing holding them back is the size and function of the home.

Names and Ages:

Renee-mother (49)
Flo- Renee’s mother (72)
Telma-Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (19)
Teyolla- Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (19)
Keyolla- Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (19)
LeeAnn- Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (16)
Sophia- Renee’s daughter (13)
Michaela- Renee’s daughter (10)
Sana- Renee’s daughter adopted from the Marshall Islands (9)
Sasha- Renee’s son with Spina Bifida adopted from Ukraine (8)
Ethan- Renee’s son with Down Syndrome adopted from Ukraine (7)
Silas- Renee’s son with Down Syndrome adopted from Ukraine (4)
Judah – Renee’ son adopted from the Marshall Islands (1)
Joanna- a blind girl under the legal guardianship of Renee (from the Marshall Islands) age 13

Deadline is March 31st.

Additional Details HERE! http://www.kmbc.com/entertainment/26650690/detail.html

Child Sex Trafficking in America

As Americans when we hear the words “sex trafficking” we usually think of places overseas in third-world countries or nations with corrupt governments. We don’t usually think closer to home – Americans trafficked by Americans. Many of the children sold into sex slavery come from broken families or the foster care system. Some of these are the young girls you may have even seen late at night when you come home from work or a social event. You may have seen them in short dresses or spiked heels and turn your head to look away, trying not to think the worst. Sometimes it’s easier to think that they want to be doing this or they wouldn’t be out there. Others are trapped and hidden away and you don’t see them at all.

Often times they are looking for an escape or for the one thing they say they didn’t find at home, love.

Mary was 12 years old when she first fell in love. It was his “swagger” that attracted her, she recalled, laughing.

The pre-teen, who lost her mother at a very young age and only saw her father on holidays, said she desperately craved a father figure. All she ever wanted was to be loved, she said, and she thought she found that in the man who patrolled up and down her street wooing her.

“I just fell into his arms,” said Mary. One day, the man invited Mary to go on a drive with him. She did, and she never returned home.

For four years, Mary was forced into child prostitution with four different pimps. She was taken from city to city, forced to have sex with random men against her will. She rarely got to keep any of the $1,500 she made every day. Instead, she was abused mentally and physically by both her pimps and other girls who he housed.

Read Mary’s whole story here.

There are an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 children in forced prostitution in the U.S.
In addition, 293,000 American youth are currently at risk of becoming victims of forced prostitution. The majority of American victims of forced prostitution tend to be runaway or thrown away children who live on the streets. These children generally come from homes where they have been abused or from families that have abandoned them.

The average age of a child entering forced prostitution is 12 years old although there have been cases of girls as young as 9 years old. Other children are recruited through forced abduction, pressure from parents, or through deceptive agreements between parents and traffickers. Once these children become involved in forced prostitution they are often forced to travel far from their homes and as a result are isolated from their friends and family. The lifestyle of these kids revolve around violence, forced drug use and constant threats.

Child sex trafficking is on the rise and the traffickers know what they are doing. With the release of the 170-page “Manual on How to Molest Children”, traffickers are becoming pros at saying the right things and finding the children at their most vulnerable times. The manual goes into disgusting detail about where and how to find potential victims and even goes into a topic on how to convince a victimized child not to tell his or her parents.

We cannot continue to rely only on law enforcement to take care of these atrocities. Nor can we push off the crisis of neglected, abused or abandoned children to the government. We must get involved. We must begin to pray consistently and persistently for God to bring justice on behalf of these children. We must begin to sound the alarm and raise awareness and get involved in helping children in whatever ways we can. These children are trapped and if we do not do something who will?

How Do I Identify a Victim of Human Trafficking?

A victim:

• Has unexplained absences from school for a period of time, and is therefore a truant
• Demonstrates an inability to attend school on a regular basis
• Chronically runs away from home
• Makes references to frequent travel to other cities
• Exhibits bruises or other physical trauma, withdrawn behavior, depression, or fear
• Lacks control over her or his schedule or identification documents
• Is hungry-malnourished or inappropriately dressed (based on weather conditions or surroundings)
• Shows signs of drug addiction

Additional signs that may indicate sex-related trafficking include:

• Demonstrates a sudden change in attire, behavior, or material possessions (e.g., has expensive items)
• Makes references to sexual situations that are beyond age-specific norms
• Has a “boyfriend” who is noticeably older (10+ years)
• Makes references to terminology of the commercial sex industry that are beyond age specific norms; engages in promiscuous behavior and may be labeled “fast” by peers

Here are several ways you can help end child trafficking:

1. Start/Join a Prayer Meeting

Find or start a prayer meeting in your area. If you are in Kansas City join in with Orphan Justice Center on Friday’s at 6am at IHOP-KC Prayer Room or with Exodus Cry on Mondays at 8pm. You can also join with us on the webstream by clicking here.

2. Raise Awareness through twitter, facebook, blogs, videos…

You may use social media to connect with friends or check out the latest news from the people you like. However, predators are using these tools as a means to recruit broken and lonely children into the sex industry. Use your influence to write a blog that shifts the mindsets of a generation. Create a video that tells a story that goes viral and sheds light on this issue like no one else can. Get involved in a Stop Child Trafficking Now Walk in your city

3. Get Training and Start Helping Children

Your city probably has a way to begin helping children. Do some research and find out who in your area is focused on this issue and join with them. If you are in Kansas City you can apply for our Justice Fellowship training program.

4. Get Involved in Foster Care / Adoption

Married couples and singles can get involved with foster care or adoption. The children in foster care are the most vulnerable to traffickers. They need loving families that are aware of this issue and willing to step in and say I’ll do what it takes to care for a child. Connect with the department of children and families in your city and find out when the next training is. If you are in Kansas City you can join with us at our next Foster Care training.

This article was originally written for the Orphan Justice Center. You can see the original article as I wrote it on their website here: http://orphanjusticecenter.com/2010/10/20/child-sex-trafficking-in-america/

Freedom Through Adoption

“Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:3-5

When I think of my life before Christ I think back to my high school years. You may think back to your years in college, your 20’s or 30’s or growing up in the church but never having experienced the love of the Father. Whatever the case, we were in bondage. Whether we were bound by ignorance, idolatry, or intellectualism we were slaves to sin, enthralled by the wisdom of the world yet searching for answers. Little did we know that the Father had His heart set on us and was actively pursuing our adoption as sons and daughters of the living God being brought into His family.

When my wife and I decided to pursue adoption we had no idea where to start. We had been praying for the ending of abortion and the ending of human trafficking for many years and hadn’t made the connection. We knew we wanted to see abortion end in the U.S., but had no grid for it actually happening. If abortion ended then there would be 3,700 additional unwanted babies in the world every day. On the other end of the spectrum, we were asking God for justice for the 100,000 minors involved in sex trafficking in the U.S. each year, most of which have been  involved in the foster care system.

John Piper says it like this “Adoption is greater than the universe. It was there before the universe, it is above the universe and it is the purpose of the universe.”

We then began to see the connection. Even as we were children and in bondage under the elements of the world, the Father sent His son to bring us into His family as adopted sons and daughters. The answer was there the whole time. Adoption at the horizontal level is rooted in adoption at the vertical level. What are we to do to answer the cry of the 3,700 children that are slaughtered in the womb each day? Prayer and Adoption. When the average age of girls entering sex trafficking in the U.S. is 12 years old and there are 122,000 kids in the foster care system WAITING for adoption, what must our response be? Prayer and Adoption.

We can change the destiny of a child. We can reach into the life of an 8 year old girl who next year might get sold into slavery and say “You are mine! Come be apart of our family.” We can physically and practically do this. Lives can be changed forever. Let’s be like our Father and give our lives, open our hearts and our homes and bring justice to those who have no hope.

This article was originally written for the Orphan Justice Center. You can see the original article as I wrote it on their website here: http://orphanjusticecenter.com/2010/08/09/freedom-through-adoption/.

Adoption: The Modern-Day Underground Railroad

We are in the midst of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and I’m compelled again today to pray for the lives of  the 40,000 or so victims of modern-day slavery (i.e. sex trafficking) in the cities where these events are held. The World Cup is said to draw some 500,000 visitors from all over the world and it is well known among anti-trafficking groups that where massive sporting events take place, sex trafficking is rampant. The women and children involved in the forced prostitution there can expect to be raped between 10 and 30 times a night, and with so many visitors in one place, if you do the math you can see why these events are such a draw for traffickers.

Over the past few weeks many anti-trafficking groups, including our very own Exodus Cry, have taken to the streets of Johannesburg, Cape Town and many of the cities in South Africa. Blaire Pilkington, Exodus Cry’s director of philanthropy, and her team are there to pray, raise awareness and minister to girls and tourists wanting to buy sex in hopes that they can detour people from participating in this immoral industry and possibly rescue a few out.

“We’ve seen several women that have gotten rescued out of prostitution already….” says Pilkington in an update from their website. “We began ministering to the two ladies, telling them of the Lord’s love for them, His plan for their life… and the girls’ faces began to change as we talked, and they told us they were ready, they wanted out. We grabbed their hands and led them through the streets littered with clubs, pimps and prostitutes.”

Children are at the tip of the arrow when it comes to trafficking as the average age of those entering into sex trafficking is 12. An article by CTV News shares the story of a 15 year old named Maggie, who was able to escape after she had been captured. “There was this other guy looking good, then came to me and was like ‘I’m looking for people who want to do modeling,’” she recalled in Soweto, an impoverished Johannesburg neighborhood. “I said okay. I’m good for modeling and I can do it.”

Stories like these in foreign countries are far too common. But even in the U.S., according to the department of health and human services, we have more than 100,000 children who are involved in forced prostitution. Children need fathers and mothers like never before. What we are seeing today is prophecy fulfilled. The hearts of the fathers are NOT turned to the children today and because of this the children have turned their hearts away from the fathers. The fatherless generation that is being created in this world is setting the stage for the harlot babylon yet at the same time for the turning of the fathers’ hearts back to the children and for the return of Christ to the earth. In that moment we will see the finalization of our adoption take place and be together with our Lord forever.

Adoption IS the preventative measure for human trafficking. Adoption, in many cases, is a rescue operation that snatches children out of the hands of future traffickers. What the underground railroad was to slavery, adoption is to human trafficking and abortion.

Join with us… let’s start an adoption revolution.

Show the Love…

For the Parker family and the little one we are adopting (rescuing)! July 25 is the RSVP date!
Go ahead and get your tickets now and reserve your seat for the Parkers Adoption Fundraising Banquet in the Tallahassee area at the Golden Eagle Country Club. Invites are being sent out now, but if you haven’t got an invite, don’t be shy. We would love to host you for dinner, share our vision and drop some very exciting developments to you!

Stephanie and I will be speaking that night as well as few others. Please join us!

We will be serving a catered full course dinner at our Adoption Banquet and will be selling tickets to cover the cost of the dinner and raise money for our adoption.

You can RSVP and buy your tickets using the Paypal link below or by emailing me at adamparker@ihop.org.

You can choose at what level you’d like to partner with us in this adoption by purchasing one of the following tickets (tickets are per person to cover the cost of the dinner in addition to helping raise money):

To RSVP and buy your tickets by debit/credit click here:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=1016595

If you can’t make the fundraiser, but would still like to contribute you can do it online by clicking the link above or by mail on our Partner page.

10 Easy Ways to Care for Orphans

I wrote this post last week for the Orphan Justice Center which you can find here, but I thought that many of you would also love to hear some of these practical ideas for caring for orphans that anyone can do. You don’t have to be working in an orphanage in a country that ends with “stan” to be someone who cares for orphans. You can do it right along with your busy schedule.

In America, the task of caring for orphans (which I define here as any young person who has lost their parents through death, abandonment, abuse or neglect) for the most part has been given over to the government and to some whose heart has been moved to action. Most Americans think that adoption is a great thing, but less than 4% of American families have actually adopted according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

In the scriptures we see over and over again God’s heart of justice for the fatherless and His command for all christians to care for orphans. However, much of the church in America has adopted a similar cultural norm of pushing this responsibility off to others and allowing the government to take the lead role.

So I thought I would give 10 easy ways to care for orphans in an ongoing way.

1. Pray for them

When you pray for orphans and for families who are adopting, you are partnering with God’s heart in such an incredible way. In Luke 18 Jesus says that those who cry out night and day will have “speedy justice.”

2. Partner Financially with the Parker Family

We are building a team of partners who want to see an adoption revolution. Our mission is to rescue, adopt and restore orphaned children and our partners are an integral part of making this happen. Click here to become a Partner with the Parker Family.

3. Give Finances to Adoptive Families

We have families in the OJC family who are currently adopting and you may also know families who are adopting. Adoptions range from $7,000 – $30,000 so it really does take a community to rescue a life. We are among many who are CURRENTLY RAISING FUNDS for Adoption. Click here to give towards our Adoption.

4. Help raise funds for Adoptive Families

The task of fundraising for adoption is a hurdle sometimes for adoptive families. Having people who will help raise those funds makes a huge difference for both the child and the family.

5. Give your time to help an adoptive family

At OJC we have people who are committed to giving their time and energy to help adoptive families. We call them FIA’s (Family Integration Advocates). They also give time and energy to training and becoming skilled in child development and caring for orphans who have come from less than optimal circumstances. You may have an organization that does this in a different way through mentoring or big brother / big sister. Either way, giving your time to care for a child can change their life forever. Click here for more information on becoming an OJC FIA >.

6. Volunteer 2-4 hours a week/month with a Organization that Helps Orphans

Many organizations that help orphans have ways that you can volunteer hours a week or hours a month. This can be anything from mowing a lawn, delivering food, helping with paperwork or providing respite care.

7. Volunteer to mow an adoptive families’ lawn

Don’t want to bother with an organization? Get involved yourself. Ask if you can mow a lawn, wash a car or help with a household project they are working on. Any amount of help you can give will go a long way for families who have adopted.

8. Sell unwanted household items on ebay and donate the proceeds

Again finances is an easy way to help, so find some unwanted household items… or even some valuable stuff and downsize! Donate that $50 you got from selling an end table or the $500 you got from selling that toolbox. Even a small gift goes a long way.

9. Ask your church to sponsor an orphan monthly or give towards an adoption.

Your church may already have adoption support on their radar, but if they don’t you can suggest it as a mission project! Saving the life of an orphan from an abusive, neglectful or abandoned situation will change their life forever. What better ongoing mission project than to get to the end of the year knowing your church has rescued x number of orphans!

10. Become an Adoptive or Foster Family

Consider becoming an adoptive or foster family. Visit an adoption agency or attend an adoption or foster care info meeting and find out more about adopting a child. You’ll find that adoption is easy. It’s not something that comes naturally, it may take some training and preparation and will stretch you like nothing else. But it’s putting one foot in front of the other and taking one step at a time. Adoption must be done and children need families, why not yours? Click here to find out more about becoming an OJC Family >.

Life with 5 Kids

You may or may not know this, but Stephanie and I recently brought 3 kids into our home. This has been such a roller coaster journey through the grand canyon and back, but well worth it. My wife is a champion Mom. She amazes me at how she is able to manage, encourage, and raise up 5 kids as well as teaching at the Daniel Academy AND homeschooling David and Manuel. She wrote a little about the last 6 weeks and I wanted to share that with you here.

Manuel, 6, Gerardo, 4 and Dana 2 came into our home 6 weeks ago. The beginning of their time here was very challenging. They weren’t used  to structure or discipline or bedtime and those three things are huge  parts of our family life. So, needless to say, the first couple of weeks held a lot of battle of wills. Overtime though the kids grew to not only obey our house rules, most of the time, but to actually enjoy the rules and the structure we have in place. They thrive on living within a schedule and we have seen much progress.

Manuel came to us very behind in school, but I have been homeschooling and he is making steady strides to catch up. He is also opening up and receiving our love more readily. Gerardo came to us hungry for attention and when we showered it upon he turned into this amazing  outgoing little boy who is the life of the party, A.K.A our house.  Dana was prone to many tempers in a day, but now her attitude is much more obedient and she is starting to really let her personality shine.  She loves to be girly and often has a half dozen hair clips in her hair and gets very upset if she isn’t wearing her favorite shoes and dress. Unfortunately, the 4 boys have their G.I.Joe’s attack her doll house, so her girliness is often thwarted by the boys. David is loving being the oldest. He is trying hard to be an example and all the kids are lucky to have him for a big brother. Noah, who has always been super social, has taken it to another level with these kids. He is loving the interaction with all his brothers and sister. Life to him is one big play date. Not everything is perfect and easy taking in 3 kids and going to a family of 5 overnight, but the positive far outweigh the negative and we love having these children in our home!

- Stephanie

Human Trafficking Documentary from IHOP-KC: Nefarious Documentary

One of the ministries here (Exodus Cry) at the IHOP-KC missions base is and has been in production of a full-length documentary on Human Trafficking from a perspective that has not yet been seen. Many of us have seen the Human Trafficking movie that aired on television as well as the Feature Film Taken that brought the issue to even more audiences, although a little glamorized and a little hollywood flare added for dramatic affect. However, most have not seen the slavery that is going on in the world as this documentary will unveil.

I was able to experience first hand the injustice that is happening in Southeast Asia on a missions trip to Thailand and Cambodia last summer. This film will bring into the light the many injustices that have been in the darkness for so long. Check it out.

Nefarious Trailer from Exodus Cry on Vimeo.

It’s Hard to Believe it’s 2010!

Christmas has passed, our annual Onething conference is over and 2009 has finally come to an end. It’s hard to believe but the new year has started whether I was ready for it or not. Life on the missions base here in Kansas City is getting back to semi-normal; that is if we can get through all of this snow and negative degree temperatures that have been plaguing this city for the past few weeks.

Our awakening services have began again and we are continuing to see God move on the hearts of people. I love this stuff. I love hearing the testimonies of people who were bound by addictions, wrong mindsets and so many other things testifying of the power of God on their lives in setting them free.

Even at our Onething conference, which drew over 20,000 people this year, we saw so many set free from wrong mindsets, self-hatred, a spirit of fear, religious spirits, depression, suicide, and anxiety bringing joy and freedom, a greater love for the Word, and a passion for Jesus and souls. In addition, in the last 2 months or so we have had more than 900 salvations and baptisms.

God is on the move. He is up to something. We have also seen the convergence and greater partnership between Toronto Vineyard, Bethel Church, YWAM, Urbana and the Call2All with IHOP-KC in the last 2 months. My soul is stirred with a greater passion for the Word, a desire to intercede for others to make wrong things right and give myself to doing His works of justice for those who are oppressed.

I know many of you joined with us at the Onething conference online as we had more than 25,000 viewers over the web. I want to encourage you to continue to join us for the awakening services every Wed – Sat at ihop.org or on GodTV. But more so, that you would press deeper into the Word and intercession for others; that you would carve out more time in each day to pray, to be in the Word and to give yourself to works of justice.

“Therefore… I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1)