“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matthew 17:20
Overview
Orphan Hosting: Hosting an orphan from another country is a very exciting and awesome experience. It is not something that is to be taken lightly and needs to be something you have properly prepared for. There will be training for you and your spouse ahead of time, as well as a written guide to follow. It is important to make sure that those around you are also properly prepared for how to interact with your host child. Please encourage them to think of this as “a mission” they can share in.
The notion of how a family works is a foreign concept to most host children. American family life in general is radically different from the life they’ve known. Introducing and adjusting to these new concepts, smells, sounds, tastes, emotions and more takes time and effort on both ends. This time with your host child will be the most influential moments of your life and theirs.
Educational Sponsorship: In Malawi, once the children reach 8th grade they have to pay to go to school. If they are an orphan no one is paying for them and they generally drop out of school. They will work for other families to try to meet their basic needs.
Mission Trips: As a group we produce more than we could ever produce alone. On these mission trips not only do we build schools and serve in orphanages, we build lasting friendships and share the love of Christ. “Where two or more gather together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20
Current Initiatives
Hosting Ukraine.
In Ukraine, orphans are predominately housed in orphanages and with foster families. Their environment provides their most basic needs, but does not foster community or nourish through a family dynamic. Orphans are often treated as outcasts by the general public. These children are often do not know the love of a family or the love of Jesus.
Hosting is available in the summer for approximately 6 weeks and in the winter for approximately 4.5 weeks. This helps accommodate the children’s school schedule. We work primarily in the Kiev region.
Hosting Malawi.
In Malawi, orphans are most often housed with extended family or with elderly women in their village. This type of living offers some community, but lacks staples for healthy growth and development. The orphans are generally made to do many chores in order to “earn their keep” in the home. Many of these children do not know the love of a family or the love of Jesus.
F4H is one of the only orphan hosting programs available in Africa. We work with several villages in the Mzimba region. Hosting is available in the summer for approximately 6-8 weeks.
Educational Sponsorship.
Orphans don’t go to secondary school unless someone is sponsoring them. Secondary school is a privilege and is not something that orphans can afford. Without an education these children have very little chance to become employed and care for themselves beyond childhood.
School is offered in trimesters. Three hundred dollars a year will provide school fees, basic school supplies and their uniform. Three times per year the sponsor receives a school picture, the child’s report card and a letter from the child.
Mission Trips.
Ukraine: We provide a mission trip to Ukraine for approximately 6-9 days, once a year. Our focus is visiting the orphanages and the surrounding villages we partner with to spread the love of Jesus and coordinate relief efforts.
Malawi: We provide a mission trip to Malawi for approximately 8-9 days, once a year. Our focus is to spread the love of Jesus through providing day camps in the villages we target. We are also currently working to build a boarding school in one of the villages we serve.
We also provide short mission trips (5-6 days, 2-3 time/year) to spread the love of Jesus, provide basic needs and offer assistance in the following locations: Albuquerque, New Mexico (focusing on ministering in a local shelter housing women, children and orphans), Phoenix, Arizona (focusing on the inner city youth) and Nashville, Tennessee (focusing on the vulnerable living under the bridge in this area)
Coffee Fields.
Malawi coffee is known for its full body and smooth taste. Coffee farming creates sustainable income and revenue to fund our local and global hosting and educational sponsorship initiatives. The Malawi Coffee beans will be exported to Michigan to be roasted and packaged locally. The coffee will then be sold as a fundraiser to provide scholarships for host children and boarding school building funds.
We are raising funds to fully fund this program. If you would like to help contribute to this program and become a partner with us, you would not only be sustaining employment for Malawi and helping orphans, but you could also receive free coffee.
Wells.
The water available for cooking, cleaning and consuming is often sourced from the local rivers. Providing wells with readily accessible clean water adds one more element of lifting these children to the next level of humanity that they deserve. Force 4 Hope has coordinated efforts with local contractors to build wells in the villages we serve. Join us in providing the most basic need to these children. We aim to build 2 wells a year in the villages we serve.
Gallery
