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Caring for orphaned and vulnerable children through family-based living environments, discipleship and education, empowering future leaders to build healthy communities.
Summer Celebrations – Drawing Families into the Local Church
DISCIPLESHIP, FAMILY REUNIFICATION, STORIES, SUMMER CELEBRATIONS
Our vision at Restoring Hope is “Holistic restoration of South Asia’s orphaned and vulnerable children for lives of dignity, purpose and transformation of their communities.” Holistic restoration includes the physical, social, educational and spiritual healing, growth and development of children who have faced tragedy in their young lives.
Our aim is that all 700 of these children, youth and college students would be physically healthy, socially belonging, college or vocationally educated and discipled in Jesus. And the key distinction in our model of care is the assistance of the local church in helping the families to raise up their orphaned or vulnerable children.
This element of the local church needs to be fostered and intentionally built since the children were reunified with their biological families in 2020. Drawing the families, together, into the local church is a priority for Restoring Hope pastors and staff as we care for and oversee these children and families.
Our Summer Celebrations of 2022, when almost all of our 700 children and families attended their Restoring Hope local church for a two-day gathering, was specifically intended to build the community and create greater relationship between the local church and the caregiving families.
When the local pastor and his family combine with social workers and other Restoring Hopestaff to welcome the families and put on a celebration, community is grown and relationships are built stronger. This happened during our Summer Celebrations through games, crafts, song and dance performance, short Biblical messages, a field trip to a local outdoor experience, a sleepover and a lot of colorful décor and delicious food.
Harsha* is one of our 172 college students. When he lost his father at an early age, his future was dim, but his local Restoring Hope church gave him a second chance.
We recently asked Harsha* about his memories of summer camp and regional meetings of many Restoring Hope churches:
“Me and my mother attended the regional meeting. My mother liked that group regional meeting as all the Restoring Hope children parents shared their experience of the lockdown situation. Regional meetings are very important to me when all the Restoring Hope children and parents are involved in the meeting and we are learning care and protection of the children. Staff gives good guidance to the parents; these meetings are very helpful to all the Restoring Hope children.“
Harsha* is a current Restoring Hope college student.
If they didn’t have it before, Harsha and his mother, after attending our Summer Celebrations, now have a sense of belonging and connection with their local church community and pastor’s family. This is a key part of Restoring Hope’s vision.
Restoring Hope’s Summer Celebrations are just one part of our ongoing effort to care for the holistic needs of orphans and vulnerable children through their own biological families and the assistance and shepherding of the local church.
Restoring Hope’s vision for holistic restoration of orphans and vulnerable children is being fulfilled one family at a time, one local church and pastor at a time, one Summer Celebration at a time.
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