FallEdition2014

RESPONDINGTO CHILD ABUSE1

SAVE THE DATE!CHRISTMASOPEN HOUSE

3BLESSING THE LORD

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ccording to Governor Robert Bentley,there are 29,000 cases of child abuseinvolving 45,000 victims in Alabamathis year. How disheartening is this

statistic! Because of the enormity of thisissue, Governor Bentley announced plansto implement statewide initiatives toprevent and recognize cases of childabuse in its earliest stages. As Christians,what can we do for these children andtheir families?

The state agency that is responsiblefor investigating these claims anddeciding if intervention is needed is theDepartment of Human Resources (DHR).Pray daily for Nancy Buckner, the DHRcommissioner. It is hard to imaginethe enormity of her job. She needs ourprayers. Find out who your county DHRdirector is and pray for them daily aswell. For many hurting families, DHRmight be their first point of contact.God still works through civilauthorities and Christians havea specific responsibility to prayfor the people that God hasput in positions of authority.

There are some verypractical things thatChristians can do to helpchildren facing these trau-matic situations. Here are afew suggestions:

Keep your eyes and earsopen. The best time torespond to child abuse isbefore it occurs. Manyfamilies do not haveextended family or a faithfamily to create a socialsupport system for them.Perhaps your small group or

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2For privacy reasons, photos throughout may not bethe images of those featured in the stories.

your church can become extended family for a family that hasexhausted all of their resources. In the vast majority of cases, par-ents and caregivers do not intend to abuse their child. By creatingcaring communities that can be there for discouraged and over-whelmed families, we can prevent many cases of suspected childabuse or neglect.

If you have concerns that a child is being mistreated, always takethese concerns very seriously. Do not be afraid to report suspectedabuse or neglect to the police or to DHR. Your identity will be keptconfidential and you may alert the appropriate authorities to aproblem situation while it is still small enough to be manageable.

If you have concern for a family, help them find appropriate help.Professional counselors who are specially trained to work withfamilies in hard places can offer great suggestions for effectiveparenting and discipline. If you notice a large group of families incrisis in your community, pray for the best way to respond.Perhaps your church could begin a group for families in need ofextra support.

Consider sponsoring a foster family. When children need to beremoved from their home for a period, foster families are frequently called upon to care for the children. This is a very challenging role. Find a local foster care agency and ask if there isa family that you could support through prayers, clothes and supplies for the children, encouraging cards, or perhaps birthdaycakes for the kids in their care. There are about 5,000 children inAlabama’s foster care system. Our great foster parents are heroes!

Thank you, Governor Bentley, for reminding us of the gravity ofthis situation. How can we who are followers of Christ respond to allof the “least of these” (both children and overwhelmed parents) whoare represented by these alarming statistics? I know it’s an overusedphrase, but what would Jesus do?

To learn more about how Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes &Family Ministries works alongside children and families goingthrough difficult situations such as abuse and neglect, visitwww.alabamachild.org.

Sincerely,Rod Rod Marshall

President/CEO

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am Philip. I am 11 years old. I was adopted into the family of God when Ibecame a Christian on March 30, 2014. Before my mom and dad found mewhen I was six, I had been abused in many terrible ways.

Six years ago, God rescued me when he led my mom and dad to find me. Mymomma and daddy realized I was their third son. They fought for me becausethey knew I was theirs. One year later, I was adopted into my forever familywhere I have a momma and daddy, two big brothers, grandparents, aunts,uncles, and cousins who all love me.

Even though I was born in and lived in the South, I hadnever heard of Jesus. I did not know who God was.

My momma and daddy told me who Jesus was the daythey met me. They told me God had created me andloved me very much. They shared the gospel with memany times and taught me how to read using the Bible.They loved me, cared for me, and made sure I felt safe.They constantly reminded me that God had rescuedme because He loved me and had great plans for me. Ilearned the gospel, and I learned how to pray. I prayedevery day confessing my sins.

Over the past four years, I have had opportunities daily to repent and turn toJesus and trust in Him as my Lord and Savior. However, I kept telling my momand dad that I was not ready. I trusted them, but I wasn’t ready to let anyoneelse be in charge of me. Until my momma and daddy found me, the adults in mylife had made bad choices and decisions and had hurt me terribly. Even though Iknew God had rescued me, created me, and had even died for me to take thepunishment for my sins, I didn’t want Him in charge of me. I didn’t want tomake Him number one in my life. I didn’t want to trust Him completely. I stillhad bad thoughts towards the people who hurt me and I didn’t want to give upthose bad thoughts. I kept asking my mom how could I be a believer and follow-er of Christ if I still wanted to hurt the people who had hurt me.

On March 30, my pastor preached from John 15:5. Near the end of the sermon hequoted A. W. Tozer. He said that Tozer had written, “God cannot use greatly thoseHe has not hurt deeply.”

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I told her Iwas ready tototally committo Jesus andtrust Him asmy Lord andSavior.

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Philip* is an active and energetic 11 year old boy who recently accepted Christ into his heart. He firstcame to Pathways Professional Counsling when his parents were in the process of adopting him,with a team of our counselors helping him transition into his forever family. Now, Philip wants toshare his story with you!

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I looked at my mom and said,“God has hurt me deeply.” Shesaid that yes, He had. I thentold her that God would useme greatly. She told me thatGod would only use me great-ly if I fully committed to Him,if I trusted Him to be in chargeof my whole life and madeHim number one in my life. Itold her I was ready. She saidready for what? I told her Iwas ready to totally commit toJesus and trust Him as myLord and Savior.

God has already been faithfulto His promise to use megreatly. In July, God put in mea boldness to share my testi-mony and the gospel with a teenage Mormon girlin Wyoming. He also gave me the courage to sharemy testimony and the gospel with the man whoowned the beer truck at the baseball game wheremy brother was pitching this summer.

There are many people who impacted my life andshowed me the love of Jesus. It would take toolong to mention all of them, but I do want to thank Rod Marshall and Lisa Keanefrom Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes who spent hours and hours for fouryears teaching me I was not made for hurting, and helped me learn to trustadults in my life. They also helped me learn ways to have impulse control. Theytaught me and showed me that I was valuable in God’s eyes. I also want to thankthe teachers and principals at (my school) who showed me and taught me aboutGod’s love.

At my adoption worship service, I chose Psalm 34:1−3 (ESV) as my life verse. “Iwill bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Mysoul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnifythe LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together!”

*Names have been changed to protect identities.

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was recently asked by an ABCH staff member why it is that I give totheir ministry. As I pondered the question, I realized that I have many

reasons. Some of my motivations come from global concepts, but othertimes, my financial support is motivated by items a bit more personal.Globally speaking, I want to be a person of faith. I desire to give. I

always strive to be a good steward of God’s resources. Consequently, Iexamine my giving in light of God’s Word. Most will agree that scripturetells us to give to those who cannot take care of their own needs, whetherthat is the poor, the fatherless, or the widow. Alabama Baptist Children’sHomes & Family Ministries (ABCH) was a natural missions partner for me,because they are doing the very things the Bible calls me to do. On a more individual level, I want to help children and families

because of my own father. My dad was the proverbial tough man. He did-n’t like small talk. His mannerisms were gruff at best. Outside of church,he rarely had any type of social interaction. To meet him, you would thinkhe had a bit of a hard heart. Your assumption would be accurate exceptfor one thing. My father adored kids. His face lit up when he saw childrenplaying. That same face would become furrowed immediately when hesaw a child in need. Some of the greatest memories of my dad happened at the local

grocery store. I cannot count the number of times I witnessed him buysomething for a child that theirmother couldn’t afford. Oftentimes, he would offer his moneyrather than watch the kid at theregister put an item back on theshelf. My dad wasn’t a million-aire or a philanthropist; he wasan ordinary man that touchedhundreds of lives because he waswilling to dig a little deeper intohis own pockets. That loving and generous man died just after my first child was born.

At the time, my grief was compounded by the notion that my father wholoved children would not see his own grandchildren grow. However, goingthrough the grieving and healing process, the Lord has shown me somebeautiful ways I can continue his legacy. Giving to ABCH helps me to honor my own father. Like him in the local

store, I want to give immediately. I want to give where I am. I want toimpact the next generation because that gives me the opportunity to “outlive” my own life. I want to teach my own children (and his grand-children) to be generous and compassionate. Most of all, I want to ensure

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that children who do not have the same loving and supportive environ-ment that I knew as a child, have resources and options through ABCH. Even though I have multiple reasons for generosity toward ABCH, any

one of my explanations would be reason enough to give. However, the ideathat there are several motivating factors inspires my giving all the more. Infact, like my father, it makes me want to dig just a little deeper into myown pockets.

igive“...he was an ordinary man that touched

hundreds of lives because he was willingto dig a little deeper into his own pockets.”

W R I T T E N B Y A NA N O N Y M O U S D O N O R

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his Christmas season, the children in ourcare want to open up their home to you

at our Christmas Open House events.

Make sure you come to a Christmas OpenHouse event near you!

DothanFriday, December 5, 6–8 PM368 County Line Road, Dothan, AL 36305334-677-7856 / dothan@abchome.org

DecaturSunday, December 7, 2–5 PM1404 16th Avenue SE, Decatur, AL 35601256-355-6893 / decatur@abchome.org

MobileSunday, December 7, 2–5 PM6512 Grelot Road, Mobile, AL 36695251-639-1022 / mobile@abchome.org

OxfordSunday, December 7, 2–5 PM1931 Donna Drive, Oxford, AL 36203256-831-4081 / oxford@abchome.org

More details are available at www.alabamachild.org/openhouse.

All Open House events are FREE. If you’d like to helpprovide for a child at Christmas or help support children in foster care throughout the coming year,gifts will be accepted at each site and receipts can beprovided for gifts received by check.

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the DATEChristmas Open House Events 2014