Fighting for Orphans in My Community

Will Marler • July 5, 2022

Fighting For Orphans in My Community

We all know they’re out there, in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, but what about our neighborhoods. Babies, toddlers, and teenagers who, for no fault of their own, are alone in this world. Imagine yourself as an orphan, with no one connected to you by blood, love, or the law, moving through life at the mercy of people you don’t know but are currently in their charge.

Next year, next month, or tomorrow, the bed where you sleep could be given to someone else. You are like an unchartered vessel, moving from one place to another. Your childhood is unstable. Nothing, no one belongs to you.

Local Compassion

I cannot find a comfortable place in my mind for children waiting to be taken in by God’s love. But does that mean I should neglect to act on their behalf? They’re easy to forget in the complexities of our lives, too depressing to contemplate hundreds of innocent, unwanted children here on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.

But when I see one of these children with a cute ponytail holding her doll, with an expression hauntingly empty—not in the Ukraine or Africa or South America—but right down the street, she suddenly becomes real. Of course, I want her to have a family, but what can I do?

The first thought is adoption, but is that possible for me? For you? And while adoption is the obvious solution, it’s not the only way we can help. If you cannot adopt but still love orphans and want to make a difference in a child’s life. Here are five ways you can get involved.

1: Seek Them Out and Pray

Refuse to forget orphans and heed the call to action for orphan care. Your role will become clearer the more you expose yourself to their plight. First, find a child who needs help and pray for them diligently. They have several needs. Show them love with your time, talent, or finances, and pray that a family steps up to adopt them.

Pray their current caretakers are committed and kind. Then, pray for their health, their physical needs are met, and they are protected emotionally and spiritually. Pray your local government helps and does not hinder their care. Finally, pray for guidance concerning your part in the current orphan crisis.

2: Adopt a Child Virtually and Pray

Visit sites that list orphans waiting for adoption. Pick one and think of the child as your own. Print the child’s picture to frame for your desk or place on your fridge. Tell friends, family, and everyone who will listen about this child and their need for a blessing.

Pray for this child day and night. You may find that you can donate specifically for this child’s care through a grant fund or send the boy or girl items they need for home or school. Write about your child on your Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter page to raise awareness of their existence and need for a loving family. And don’t be surprised when this child you advocate for is adopted within months.

3: Find an Adoption Family and Adopt Them

Adoption is a stressful process. Families who throw themselves into the adoption process need all kinds of support. Leave encouraging comments on their adoption blog and spread the word about them on your social media page. Help them raise money or offer to send letters or documents necessary for the adoption process. As you follow this family’s journey, you will learn many ways to connect and support their mission.

4: Support Keeping Children with Their Families

Several Christian non-profit organizations are working to keep children with their families. Too often, natural or personal disasters separate children from loving parents. Then some children struggle with physical impairments that need more care than their parents can afford.

By addressing the root causes of our orphan crisis, we can keep many children from becoming one. You can start by volunteering with a local orphan ministry or creating one at your church. The rewards exponentially outweigh the cost.

5. Learn More About Legacy Acres

Legacy Acres follows the direction of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. We are a Christian 501c3 organization that exists to provide a welcoming emergency care facility for orphaned and fatherless children who need the love of Jesus Christ.

If you would like more information about our mission to help orphans on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, contact us today.

Will Marler is the executive director of Legacy Acres, a Christian non-profit that exists to provide emergency shelter to abused abandoned, and neglected children with no place to go.

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The Power of a Crumb

By Will Marler • July 12, 2022

The power of a crumb can lift every burden, heal every affliction, and answer any prayer. Jesus is the Bread of Life, and He is able.

Essential Oil

By Will Marler • July 7, 2022

Essential Oil 2 Kings 4:1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” In the fourth chapter of Second Kings, we learn of a widow left with a huge debt but only a small jar of oil to her name. A debt so insurmountable, her dead husband’s creditors were coming to enslave her sons as a reckoning. In the first verse, we begin to understand the widow’s desperation, but do we recognize the miraculous work unfolding through her faith. Circumstances do not determine our future but may reveal where our dependence lies. A Widow in Need Here we find a widow’s dependence on a miracle to be revealed. She did not seek help from a king or the governing powers, nor did she try to rectify the matter herself. Instead, she sought the help of her only connection to her creator, the prophet Elisha anointed by God. Simply put, she chose the only Savior capable of helping her in her plight. The comforts we seek, the securities we cling to, and the solutions we cultivate by our strength can create dangerous independence from God. How often do we devise well-planned solutions and present them to God? Then pray for Him to confirm our thought-out strategies to resolve our circumstances instead of releasing the problem to the Lord. Opportunity Lost In doing so, we could miss an opportunity for revelation. For God’s response to our struggles is a study in faith. In verses one through six, we find Elisha giving the woman detailed instructions to gather many vessels and fill from her limited supply of oil. Imagine this act of obedience as the desperate mother gathers all the vessels she and her sons could find. Let’s not miss the opportunity like that of the widow, whose faith was limited only by the number of vessels she collected. God’s provision is supplied by our readiness to obedience where His process allows His promises to prevail. Lesson Learned She returns home and begins pouring from her jar. One by one, she fills each vessel. Then the promise of the Father allows her to sell her abundance, pay her debts, and save her children from bondage. The Lord offers provision to all of us. One in which our debts are settled, and our lives are restored. His grace covers the debt of our past and extends to us a hopeful future. An abundance of mercy, as our sins are reconciled through the blood of Jesus. Only He is the provision that meets us where we live. Only he is the hope that sustains us. Only he is our essential oil. Not some counterfeit ideology, a government program, or a class offered in college, but a love that covers our deepest needs. He is the beginning and the end of our humanity, and there is nothing from man that should be in-between. Lord, help us to trust you. To exhibit complete dependence and obedience and the utmost faith in your plan. Help us choose your wisdom and knowledge rather than relying on my talents and resources, learning the importance of total dependence on You. Learn More If you would like more information about Legacy Acres, please contact us today . Will Marler is the executive director of Legacy Acres , a Christian non-profit that exists to provide emergency shelter to abused abandoned, and neglected children with no place to go.