Huh? Spring break....yeah we know it's a ways away but we have been planning our spring break since October!!
Let me back up a bit, we have an amazing orphan ministry at our church, it's actually the reason we switched churches a little over a year ago. We knew we were going to need support and wanted our child to grow up and be celebrated in their adoption both legally and in Christ. Project Hope has become our family, they've rallied arounds us and we've been able to rally around families and individuals who are passionate about caring for orphans both locally and globally.
A while back the leadership of Project Hope began dreaming of how to globally care for orphans well other than just through international adoption. One of the venues they began investigating was how to empower local churches abroad to care for their orphans well, to teach on the importance of permanence to families who had taken in children and how the gospel is the center of all of this. Most importantly, we want to show how God is for permanent families whether it is through reconciliation, reuniting previously separated families, domestic adoption etc, and through empowering families to keep their kids when resources are limited.
So that brings us to Spring Break '15! Chris and I were asked by the Project Hope leadership team to pray about going with a small group to Rwanda for 10 days. It immediately didn't seem possible for Chris to go with work and school but after talking with his advisor it is looking like we will get to do this together!! We have been praying for years to find a way to do global ministry together and we are so excited for this trip! This will be the second time both Chris and I have gone to Rwanda but our first time being able to go and minister together!! See this beautiful place, Chris took this picture when he was there in 2011. I love how well it captures "The Land of a Thousand Hills"
Our Goal:
This trip will be a vision trip to learn how to come along side overseas local churches and help them care for orphans in their community. We will be partnering with Saddleback Church to learn about their vision and implementation of global orphan care in Rwanda through the PEACE Plan. Our goal is to utilize aspects of what we learn in Rwanda together with the vision and heart of our church to modify and create our own vision and plan to participate in global orphan care.
Our goal is to work behind the scenes to minister to and encourage Rwandan church leaders who are caring for orphans in their communities. We will learn how Saddleback has helped to educate and encourage permanency in local families. Our goal is to encourage the local church to find families and then support those families so kids can get out of orphanages and into local, permanent homes as well as helping the church to find resources to keep kids in their families. Our daily, minute by minute goal is to be able to pull out at any time and still have the work go on because we are not coming into rescue or provide but to encourage and support the local church. In this, all glory goes to God and the work is sustainable and long lasting.
When we return, we will begin dialoguing with the Project Hope team, elders and missions team to prayerfully consider our church's involvement in caring for orphans around the globe. Rwanda has done an amazing job of getting kids out of orphanages and into Rwandan families so we are excited to learn how to come along side and encourage other churches in other countries that our church partners with to do the same.
We would love you to fervently pray for us and the other team members as we plan, travel and then hopefully create a God honoring, global orphan care ministry in our church. Our church has never had a ministry like this so we are excited and somewhat anxious to step into the unknown and be part of the beautiful mess that is to come. We are so thankful to be part of a church who cares so deeply for the vulnerable.
Specifics of the trip:
Length of Trip: 10 days at the end of March/beginning of April
Estimated Cost: $3000 per person
If you feel led to give, we will be fundraising for our trip. All donations are tax deductible, if unused the donations will go to the rest of the team and then to the short-term missions fund.
You can make checks payable to Grace Evangelical Free Church and write "Rwandan Missions Trip" and our names Chris and Megan Negrete in the memo line.
You can send to us (please email us for our address: negretefamilyadoption@gmail.com) or you can send directly to our church: Grace EV Free, Attention Jeff Khalil, 12717 Santa Gertrudes Ave, La Mirada, CA 90638.
Let me back up a bit, we have an amazing orphan ministry at our church, it's actually the reason we switched churches a little over a year ago. We knew we were going to need support and wanted our child to grow up and be celebrated in their adoption both legally and in Christ. Project Hope has become our family, they've rallied arounds us and we've been able to rally around families and individuals who are passionate about caring for orphans both locally and globally.
A while back the leadership of Project Hope began dreaming of how to globally care for orphans well other than just through international adoption. One of the venues they began investigating was how to empower local churches abroad to care for their orphans well, to teach on the importance of permanence to families who had taken in children and how the gospel is the center of all of this. Most importantly, we want to show how God is for permanent families whether it is through reconciliation, reuniting previously separated families, domestic adoption etc, and through empowering families to keep their kids when resources are limited.
So that brings us to Spring Break '15! Chris and I were asked by the Project Hope leadership team to pray about going with a small group to Rwanda for 10 days. It immediately didn't seem possible for Chris to go with work and school but after talking with his advisor it is looking like we will get to do this together!! We have been praying for years to find a way to do global ministry together and we are so excited for this trip! This will be the second time both Chris and I have gone to Rwanda but our first time being able to go and minister together!! See this beautiful place, Chris took this picture when he was there in 2011. I love how well it captures "The Land of a Thousand Hills"
Our Goal:
This trip will be a vision trip to learn how to come along side overseas local churches and help them care for orphans in their community. We will be partnering with Saddleback Church to learn about their vision and implementation of global orphan care in Rwanda through the PEACE Plan. Our goal is to utilize aspects of what we learn in Rwanda together with the vision and heart of our church to modify and create our own vision and plan to participate in global orphan care.
Our goal is to work behind the scenes to minister to and encourage Rwandan church leaders who are caring for orphans in their communities. We will learn how Saddleback has helped to educate and encourage permanency in local families. Our goal is to encourage the local church to find families and then support those families so kids can get out of orphanages and into local, permanent homes as well as helping the church to find resources to keep kids in their families. Our daily, minute by minute goal is to be able to pull out at any time and still have the work go on because we are not coming into rescue or provide but to encourage and support the local church. In this, all glory goes to God and the work is sustainable and long lasting.
When we return, we will begin dialoguing with the Project Hope team, elders and missions team to prayerfully consider our church's involvement in caring for orphans around the globe. Rwanda has done an amazing job of getting kids out of orphanages and into Rwandan families so we are excited to learn how to come along side and encourage other churches in other countries that our church partners with to do the same.
We would love you to fervently pray for us and the other team members as we plan, travel and then hopefully create a God honoring, global orphan care ministry in our church. Our church has never had a ministry like this so we are excited and somewhat anxious to step into the unknown and be part of the beautiful mess that is to come. We are so thankful to be part of a church who cares so deeply for the vulnerable.
Specifics of the trip:
Length of Trip: 10 days at the end of March/beginning of April
Estimated Cost: $3000 per person
If you feel led to give, we will be fundraising for our trip. All donations are tax deductible, if unused the donations will go to the rest of the team and then to the short-term missions fund.
You can make checks payable to Grace Evangelical Free Church and write "Rwandan Missions Trip" and our names Chris and Megan Negrete in the memo line.
You can send to us (please email us for our address: negretefamilyadoption@gmail.com) or you can send directly to our church: Grace EV Free, Attention Jeff Khalil, 12717 Santa Gertrudes Ave, La Mirada, CA 90638.
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