Congo… It’s becoming our Home away
from Home
As difficult as it is to leave our
own families and friends when we head to Congo, we feel the beautiful children
of Congo are becoming our own. The
children are now calling us Mama Debra and Mama Robin! We have spent 8 weeks in the Congo over the
last 4 months. It has provided us an
opportunity to implement some amazing programs for your children. It is so rewarding to see how the children
have flourished in our care. Children
who seemingly walked around in despair now display personalities that rip at
your heart strings! Don’t take our word
for it… just look at the photos!
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| Think they are adapting well? |
We arrived in Congo this time with
renewed excitement... we can see and feel the light at the end of the tunnel. Although we were disappointed to hear the
Congolese delegations had canceled their trip to the U.S., we respect their
reasons to stay and work on the issues.
The Notice issued by the Department of State is concerning regarding the
U.S. based families (none of which were EAC families) who took inappropriate
actions to bring their children home. We
know it is frustrating but we ask that you avoid the temptation to do something
similar. That being said, we remain
optimistic the situation regarding exit letters will be resolved and your
children will be home soon.
As we said, over the last 4 months
we have been extremely busy providing first class care for the children. Our new foster care facility is incredible –
full of love and support for the kiddos.
Again on this trip, we were blessed to have a number of families travel
with us, meet with their children and witness firsthand the care all the
children are receiving. Just so you
know, the children are not aware of the suspension of exit letters, they only
know they are in a good place being well cared for. They dance, love, laugh, eat and pray. They are doing all the things children should
be doing. They are being children.
On this trip we were also blessed to
have Father Bob Stec, a priest from a church near our main office in
Strongsville OH, travel with us, along with his Mission Director, Jake Bihari. Father Bob and Jake share the same passion
for helping children in need. We had
explained to them the situations the orphaned children of Congo face on a daily
basis and they were called to visit Congo and see what if anything their
congregation could do to assist.
Needless to say, what they saw was heartbreaking. What they saw were children in need of faith,
hope, love, and food.
We are excited to announce we will
be working in partnership with Father Bob and his congregation to sponsor as
many children as possible through a program called “Project Chosen”. As you can imagine, this is a huge
undertaking to insure the money gets to where it is most needed. Please spread the word to your churches,
schools, civic groups, etc who may be interested in sponsoring children of
Congo. We will keep you posted on
details of the program, but we are anticipating sponsorship of a child to be
about $40/month for nutrition and schooling.
Stay tuned, this is amazingly exciting!
***As a side note, Father Bob
heads a wonderful annual event, in Cleveland OH, each summer called “The Fest”
– a day of worship, fellowship, and fun. Oh, and there’s music! (scheduled to
perform: Third Day, Mandisa, Colton Dixon, For King and Country) EAC is proud to be a sponsor of this
incredible FREE event. If you are in the
area check it out, with 35,000+ of your closest friends, you won’t be disappointed! And you can bet "Project Chosen" will be promoted BIG TIME, so much so that the theme for this year's festival is "Chosen"!
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| Nearly 37,000 enjoyed last year's Festival! |
In addition to Father Bob and his
efforts, we have 2 additional churches who have committed to sponsoring nearly
60 children! Thank you to our EAC
families who have been coordinating with their contacts in providing for these
children.
As you can see, EAC is making every effort to
provide the children with opportunity.
Opportunity to thrive, Opportunity to grow, Opportunity to be
children. As a by-product, we are
showing the Congolese officials we are committed to the children of Congo.
EAC has positioned itself, not just as an adoption
agency, but as an organization who truly cares for the children of Congo. Of course, our goal is to assist children in
finding their forever families – we are positioned to do just that – better than
any other organization!
Thanks for being a part of this amazing journey! Enjoy the wonderful photos provided by Curtis and Ashley Pepe!
Cheers,
Debra and Robin
God bless you all - we'll see you soon!!!
