Complete A Life
You don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. Thousands of teens in foster care would love to put up with you! November is National Adoption Month, designated to raise awareness about the adoption of children and youth from foster care. Its purpose is to provide national awareness of the need for adoptive families, to celebrate children and families, and a call to action to ensure safety, permanency and well being for all of our children.
The Miriam Project, established by Madison Park Church in response to the need for adoptive services in Madison County, provides adoption services to birth families and adoptive families in an effort to place children in loving, Christ-centered homes. Director Doug Linville says, “The idea of participating in an adoption can be overwhelming. It is both an exciting and challenging experience.”
A new website, www.MiriamProject.org, has been launched to better connect and inform people of the ministry and services of The Miriam Project.
Doug says, “We are also seeking to better connect with birth moms and birth families by reaching out through Facebook and other web communications—the most popular way women ages 18-33 communicate with each other.”
“Finding themselves in an unplanned pregnancy situation can bring a variety of emotions and questions,” Doug continues. “We are here to walk through this journey with them and assist them in developing an adoption plan for their child.”
MPC-goers Jeff and Christi Maidlow have a heart for foster care. “We had great respect for foster parents,” they say, “and began praying for a way that we could be agents for children.” The Maidlows began taking children into their home for a night, a weekend or for a week, to provide a break for fulltime foster parents. “Our enjoyment of the children blossomed until we ‘enjoyed the music’ of children in our home. God seemed to lead us into Crisis Care—emergency situations where children need immediate care, often in the middle of the night. We became God’s agent to that child in their time of need.” The Maidlow’s say, “the risks of opening our home and hearts to numbers of children is insignificant compared to the opportunities for children to be in a home that is Christ-centered.” As they “let go and let God,” doors opened and they now have the “music” of their own adopted child.
The Miriam Project will host a meeting on November 16, 10:45 am at Madison Park for people interested in foster care, adoption, or providing short-term respite care for foster families needing a break. A family is needed for every child! Consider adoption and give a child something that every child deserves: a permanent, loving home. Complete a life—complete your own.
Contact: The Miriam Project (765) 640-1580 or www.miriamproject.org.
