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Pure Religion

Pure Religion

Pure religion follows God’s heart in caring for widows and orphans. (James 1:27) The problem of parentless children results in millions of children struggling without a nurturing home to shelter and cushion them from a broken and hurting world. In the United States, more than 500,000 children live in foster care; of that number, one-quarter are legal orphans awaiting a “forever family” to provide security and a support system to weather the storms of life.
This weekend, in conjunction with National Orphan Sunday, Cry of the Orphan is hosting a live simulcast event to serve as a voice for the 140 million orphans worldwide. Cry of the Orphan, sponsored by Focus on the Family, Show Hope, and Hope for Orphans, shares a deep burden for orphans. While not everyone can adopt a child or become a foster parent, there is a role for compassionate, concerned citizens and churches in advocating for these children. The simulcast, at 4:00 p.m. EST, will be available through a Web-based video stream, a satellite feed, and on many radio stations.
Nationwide, 127,000 children in foster care are available to be adopted, but only 18 percent of those are adopted annually. Children, on average, wait over two years before being adopted. While you may not be called by God to adopt a waiting child, you can pray for a waiting child, become a court-appointed advocate for an abused or neglected child, cook dinner or mow a lawn for a busy foster parent, or provide basic supplies for an 18-year-old “aging out” of the foster-care system with little support. Explore your part in helping these vulnerable children by consulting the resources below.
Most people consider an international adoption or a domestic adoption when they think of adopting. More recently, a third type of adoption – embryo adoption – has raised awareness about the sanctity of life and has resulted in the saving of hundreds of preborn lives. 
Known as “snowflakes,” these children are the result of embryos created through in vitro fertilization and placed in frozen storage. Since the first “test-tube baby” two decades ago, hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos have accumulated nationwide. What to do with these embryos, a matter of intense debate, defines the life issue of the preborn. While many advocate utilizing these embryos for stem-cell research – a process which kills the embryos – while others say these embryos can be donated to millions of infertile couples, enabling the preborn to realize their potential as precious and priceless life.
Hannah, the first “snowflake child,” was born December 31, 1998. According to the group that has pioneered embryo adoption, an estimated 3,000 “snowflakes” have now been born. According to Hannah’s mom, “God’s plan was well in place for these embryos, and that was a plan of adoption instead of destruction. And that’s His plan for mankind – a plan of adoption instead of destruction.” 
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