I was recently invited to meet with two precious women whose hearts break to see the Gospel impact the sphere of Orphan Care through their ministry initiative, Blessed Hope. Stephanie Bassham was one of these ladies. I was so refreshed in our time together as her very being exuded the truth that Christ is the cornerstone of her hope, and her actions flow from that by His mercy. So grateful she was willing to share this month.
My husband and I found ourselves in the parking lot of the Church at Brookhills on a Monday night last Spring, nervous about the new season God was calling us into. We were about to embark on the 10-week journey of foster care training. We had no idea what this would look like for our family, but undoubtedly, we were in the right place. Now fast-forward one year, and we are in the midst of adopting from the Dominican Republic and leading an orphan care ministry and adoption fund with another family called Blessed Hope. After envisioning a life of foster care in some form or fashion, I didn't expect this result, but this is God's story. He is the author, not me. Often times I have felt like Moses asking the Lord after he was assigned to lead the Israelites, "Who am I to lead in this? Who's going to listen to my voice? I'm not eloquent…" You get the picture of my insecurities, but the key words Moses said are, "Here I am." That's the beauty of walking in obedience to the Lord. He sees your willingness to carry a banner for His sake, and He takes it from there. And how grateful I am for that!
When we were mulling over the name of our adoption fund and orphan care ministry, one of our leaders suggested Blessed Hope. That was it! There's a song very dear to us called "Blessed Hope Come" on the Indelible Worship album, inspired from Titus 2:13.
Eagerly creation groans, expectedly it waits in hope
For redemption from the curse of our sin
Like it does the Spirit groan, interceding for it's own
Longing for the Christ to come back again
Letting go of all we see, turning towards the heavenly
There's a homeland far beyond all compare
So our God is not ashamed, to be called our God and say
For you there's a city I have prepared
Blessed Hope come, Blessed Hope come soon
Our home is not here, in hope God we wait for you
Many times I had sung these words in worship desperately wanting our Savior to return to this broken world and take us to His perfect, eternal home. I still sing that longingly, but what about the work that needs to be done until that day? There is a crisis of 150 million orphans living in this world, and over 400,000 US children navigating the foster system. What about these children who long for a safe home or a forever family on this earth? Does he or she groan in expectant wait, hoping someone is preparing a room, a bed, a meal for them? How honored I am to say that my Jesus is getting His house ready for me because He chose to adopt me into His family. What better way to flesh that out than by doing the same here on earth.
We at Blessed Hope wish to make it known that these children, whether orphaned or temporarily cared for in the foster system, are not unimportant, that these are souls ready to be loved and introduced to Jesus. James 1:27 is just one of the many mandates found in the Scripture to care for the orphan. Not everyone is called to foster or adopt, but make no mistake, we all have the missional calling to look after the fatherless. Even the simple intercession of prayer on behalf of the orphan or on behalf of foster and adoptive families is priceless!
Paul Washer said it best:
'Missions' is very simple. There are only two ministries in missions. You're either called to go down into the well or you're called to hold the rope for those that go down…
Be sure to check out the excellent resources and encouragement Blessed Hope offers by visiting their website or liking them on Facebook!
Because of the One who is our Blessed Hope,
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