Ethiopia April Team 2013, Day 1

Our April OH Ethiopia team has arrived and we are running full force ahead on the ground in Ethiopia this week! Our team consists of a large group of some of our fans from the North Dakota area, pictured above, plus a handful of the rest of us from different parts of the US. I am thrilled to lead this team of 30, two not pictured below.

 For many on our team, this is the first time over seas. It was an exciting time for everyone as we all got settled in for the 13 hour flight across the ocean!

 As we landed in Ethiopia I ran into the Bell Family, who happens to be traveling for their first court date to adopt one of the older waiting children that I have been advocating for! Their little girl came up to me and said she knew me. They immediately recognized me and pulled out a sweet picture of their soon to be son that I had taken while advocating for him. I just love how God brings everything full circle and allows such neat confirmations! I'm so thrilled for this family and that little boy! I'm so glad we ran into each other all the way across the world as we all share the same heart and like passions for the orphan.

 We arrived on Sunday morning so we went to Beza International Church to catch some of their praise and worship. It is always such a neat experience for the team to experience church in Ethiopia, especially when it is in English, singing songs that they hear at home. It shows just how big our God is.

 We decided to spend the rest of the day in Korah. Of  course we had all our favorite guides and OH representatives! We love Bissy, Gecho, and Bira!

 We walked through Korah, being led by Bissy and Pastor Tesfye. We went on many home visits in order to pray for the families.

 The sights in Korah cannot be explained through pictures. It is always a very moving day for the team to take in the way that the people live in Korah under such extreme poverty conditions.

 Korah is the trash dump community of Addis Ababa. Many families live out of the dump.

 Most homes are made from mud, sticks, and tin roofs, or plastic.

 The team was introduced to the Pastoral team at the church within Korah. These men grew up in Korah and now have such a huge heart to make a difference in their community after God has risen them from such poverty, themselves.

 Many of the women we prayed for were struck with Leprosy. It truly is like walking through a scene in the bible.

Our home visits came to a close and we went back to the guest house for a time of rest, showers, dinner, and group discussion. This is always the hardest day, physically, on the team as we arrive in the morning in Ethiopia when in America it is around midnight. So not much sleep and running on pure adrenaline, makes for a tired team at the end of the day. We had a great discussion and prayer time and heard from each team member what they were impacted from the most. After a few tears and many touched, and overwhelmed hearts, we called it a day. We look forward to our Day 2 on the ground in Ethiopia with this awesome team!

Introducing the April Team

Our April team of 30(!) is now flying somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean on their way to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They will be serving in Ethiopia April 7 through the 13, then return home on the 14th. Please keep them in your prayers for safety, health and that they are a blessing to all they come in contact with. Here are the members of Team April:

Sonja and Annika from North Dakota. The mother/daughter on this team.

Kourtney, Bailey and Katherine from North Dakota.

Logan and Lauren from North Dakota.

Chelsi, Jennifer and Annabel from North Dakota.

Jodi from Oklahoma, a mom who adopted an older child from Ethiopia.

Kellye from Oklahoma.

Our seasoned trip member and OH volunteer, Deborah from Utah and our fearless leader, Kelly from Tennessee.

Kim, Becky and Rachael from North Dakota. Kim is co-leader of this trip and has done an AWESOME job helping her North Dakota people fundraise and stay organized.

Lacey from North Dakota and Beth from Colorado.

Morgan,  Meghan, and Shane from North Dakota.

Michelle, Peter and Maggie from North Dakota.

Courtney from North Dakota, Alyssa and Daniel the married couple on the trip, also from North Dakota.

Jennifer from North Dakota, pictured with leader Kim.

Most of the team at the Washington DC airport ready to board their flight for Addis!

Kelly's friend at Ethiopian Airlines who always takes such good care of our teams!

If you want to get an idea of what this team will be doing, watch this video from our December 2012 team and make sure to check back on the blog for daily updates from our April team on the ground.

Want to join one of our teams? Sign up today! Spots are still left on the June 14-22 trip and the July 13-21 trip. Click here to read more and sign up.

Kids in Orem, UT Host Read-A-Thon to help kids in Africa!

 Hillcrest Elementary, in Orem, UT, hosted a Read-A-Thon to help provide school supplies to the children living at the Hope For Hopeless Children's Shelter in Ethiopia.  Hope For The Hopeless is a ministry in Ethiopia that finds street children and puts them in their shelter in order to bring healing and restoration. The children make amazing transformations through the love of God being poured into them. Hillcrest PTA president (Rochelle Anderson) wanted their school to help a school through Ordinary Hero. They decided to put together school packets for the kids at Hope for the Hopeless. The items were donations, but the kids had to earn them during the 2 week Read-A-Thon in March.  They had to read to earn the items to put into the packets. The reading had to take place outside of school hours.  The kids read almost 2500 minutes in 2 weeks, which earned enough items for 60 packets! Way to go kids!! Each packet has a t-shirt, notebook, book, pen, pencil, and bookmark. They brought a few of the kids in to put the packets together. They loved it! These packages will be taken over next week with the April team traveling to Ethiopia to be passed out to the children living at the shelter. They can't wait to show them the pics of the H4H kids getting their packets!

Beverly Soutas, the Ordinary Hero Fundraising Coach, was able to share with the children about her experience traveling to Ethiopia with Ordinary Hero and what the needs are in Africa. Beverly and her husband will be joining Ordinary Hero again in July for another team trip to Ethiopia. 

(Beverly and her husband, Kelly, pictured at the Hope For Hopeless Shelter in Ethiopia)

What an awesome idea this was to challenge our young world changers to make a difference in the life of a child in need! If your school is interested in outreach projects to help children in need in Africa please email info@ordinaryhero.org. 

Thank you, Hillcrest Elementary, for paving the way and showing the world that you can challenge children to read to make a difference....AND THEY LOVE IT! 

For a glimpse of one of our visits to Hope For The Hopeless on a past team trip, Click Here. 

March Grant Recipients!!

We LOVE granting funds for your adoption or mission trip! A HUGE congratulations to Desiree Thompson, Kim Pellegrino, and Lauren Siler, our March grant recipients!! We are so excited to be helping these three families in their fundraising efforts as they work to fund their adoptions! Read their stories below, and get inspired! Look for more upcoming grant giveaways, and next time it could be YOU receiving one of these grants...

Congrats to Desiree Thompson from WI!  

Desiree and her husband are fundraising for their 2nd Ethiopian adoption. They brought home their son, Tariku, last year (gotcha day anniversary was this week!) and while making the required visits, met the son they are adopting now. Both boys were transferred together to AHOP (by Jimmy Gross of No Ordinary Love Ministries) and have a history together.  After learning more about him and his medical needs, they decided to adopt him as well! Right now they are working REALLY hard to get all the paperwork done Mid-May because she is due with their THIRD biological child in June!! Yep... they're going from 3 to 5 kids really quickly! Adopting their oldest, and having their youngest! "God is so good and we are excited to watch our family grow!" You can follow their family's story here. Congrats, Thompson family, and good luck with all of these amazing, exciting changes on the horizon!

Congrats to Kim Pellegrino from MD!

Does that name sound familiar?? It might, because this family was the recipient of the Beth Venable State Farm Grant last month!! And here they are again, a little closer to their fundraising goal! You can read about this family's story in the earlier blog post, but she wanted to add a little more... After returning from China just 6 months ago, they are hoping to return again this September to bring home their 2nd son. Just when they thought they couldn't be any more blessed, God has called on them once again to provide an orphan a home and family, and they couldn't be happier about it! Both boys are considered special focus in the eyes of China, but are simply SPECIAL to this family. This adoption has forced them to step out of their comfort zone and ask for assistance. Here is her take on fundraising (taken from her blog): "Fundraising isn't easy. It is humbling. It makes you look at the world differently somehow. You realize that you have too much of all this other stuff when all you really want is to provide a home for a homeless child...a kid for crying out loud! You want a family like everyone else. So sometimes it may seem easy to ask for donations with a smile and other times it's extra hard. Sometimes fundraising families see a large donation here or there, but mostly they are small ones that add up and up and up. They all matter, both big and small (many people don't realize that something, anything is better than nothing)." They are SO grateful to those who have already supported them along this journey and those who continue to give! Congrats on this grant, Kim! 

Congrats to Lauren Siler from VA!

Lauren and her husband Steven took a trip to Kenya, Africa is February 2012 and while they were there they visited an orphanage just outside of Nairobi. Their hearts went out to the children there. Their clothes were tattered, they didn't have shoes. But it wasn't just the physical needs not being met that touched this couple. They talked with the director of the orphanage and listened to the stories of how these children ended up there - most abandoned... left in outhouses, left at the front gate... Lauren's heart ached for the 'unwanted', the 'unlovable'. The ache went beyond the need for basic necessities; these kids needed a FAMILY. They left Africa, having found a new calling, and began the adoption process. They hadn't even started trying for biological children yet, so, needless to say their decision shocked and confused those around them. Yet, they are so certain that this is what God has called them to do. They are currently on the waiting list to adopt two children from Ethiopia and are about $20,000 away from their fundraising goal. Congratulations, Lauren and Steven! We are so excited to be a part of your fundraising efforts!

We had a lot of affiliates jump in on this grant! Remember, affiliates always receive 40% of any sale, at any time, when their name is selected from the drop down menu during the checkout process. We LOVE being a blessing to help you reach your fundraising goals with your adoption or mission trip! If you need help fundraising for your adoption or mission trip, check out our Fundraising Affiliate program today!

Also, a HUGE thank you to all of those who made purchases on our affiliates behalf! Your generosity is greatly appreciated and has helped each of them get one step closer!! 

This program is a HUGE blessing to all of our fundraising families. We welcome all donations toward our grant giveaway program. They are GREATLY  appreciated! Thank you for your support as we support others! To donate toward our grant giveaway program click here. 

Created For Care ~ March 2013

 Just now getting around to posting about our awesome weekend at Created For Care in Atlanta!

This is such a wonderful getaway for adoptive Mommas from all over the US to gather together.

 

We were proud to be one of the sponsors of this awesome event! 

Hopefully you were able to stop by our table and visit. We had a few new items available for sale. 

If you purchased from us, we would love for you to share your pics! 

Send us pics of you guys sporting our merch and we would love to post them on our facebook and instagram, twitter, etc. We love all our supporters, especially the small, wee world changers! :-) 

Don't forget to "Like" us on facebook so we can tag you in your pic. And also don't forget to tell us where you are from. :-) 

We enjoyed meeting some of our supporters and fundraising families and grant winners! 

Thank you, Created For Care, for another great weekend! 

See everyone at this event next January and March! 

Announcing the Beth Venable State Farm Grant Winner!!

Congratulations to the Pellegrino family on being selected for the 

Beth Venable State Farm Adoption Assistance Grant!

The Pellegrino family with their son, Anthony (bottom middle) and their waiting son (courtesy of photoshop), top middle.

The Pellegrino family, both teachers from Maryland, adopted their son, Anthony, internationally in September of 2012. In their words...."Once we were married we left our home state of New York to move to Maryland to raise a family. We continued to teach with the hopes of filling our home with lots of little feet. As the years passed we came to realize that birth children were not in God’s plan for us. Rather than search for answers in biological terms, we chose to begin our search in the many faces of orphaned children. In August of 2011, we found our first son Anthony. His cleft lip and palate was likely the reason he was abandoned and his age was likely the reason he was still available. While he was considered “special focus” all we knew was that he was SPECIAL. Anthony came home a year later and is just so full of life and personality!" Shortly after bringing him home, Kim saw a photo of a waiting child, an 18 month old boy with psychomotor delays who had been abandoned at one month old.  Due to the unknowns of his medical condition, he would most likely stay in the orphanage his whole life. The Pellegrino's could not let that happen and have started the process to bring him home.
With the approval of this second adoption, they decided that "Momma" would stay home another year. "We believe this to be very important as well however it leaves us as a one-income family on a teacher's salary. For the last adoption we did not reach out for any assistance what so ever and relied on our savings and the re-mortgaging of our home. For this adoption we are applying for grants and fundraising." 

On behalf of State Farm and the Beth Venable Memorial Fund, we are thrilled to give this $1000 grant to the Pellegrino Family! This decision was made by a panel of OH Staff and Michael Venable, himself. Each picked their top three and the Pellegrino Family was on each list which made it unanimous.

Thank you to State Farm and all the donors who gave on behalf of the Beth Venable Memorial Fund. This grant would not have been possible without you. And thank you to the 15 other families who applied for this grant. It was so hard to choose just one recipient! We heard many amazing stories of love for these children that are waiting. We hope to offer another grant in the future.

Affiliates, stay tuned! The next grant giveaway will be going on March 15-22, with three $500 grants to be given away to the top 3 selling affiliates. Are you not an OH affiliate yet? Sign up here.

$25 Gift Certificate When You Become A Monthly Partner!

We REALLY appreciate our monthly partners! 

We couldn't do what we do to help children in need, give adoption and missions grants to help get the Ordinary Heroes TO the children in need, give through local outreach, help families in crisis, etc, etc without support from our partners like you! 

As our way to say thank you we are giving a $25 Gift Certificate to the Ordinary Hero Store to ALL of you who sign up to become a monthly partner with Ordinary Hero for just $13.58 a month. 

That $13.58 equals $163 per year on behalf of the 163 million orphans and children in need that we strive to bring awareness and aide to. 

A little can go a long way!

Have you been blessed or inspired by Ordinary Hero at all? 

One small way you could help us continue in our mission 

would be to become a monthly partner for just $13.58 per month. 

It's not much but it helps our organization a TON!

Now is a great chance to sign up to partner because you will receive a $25 Gift Certificate to spend in the OH Store any way you want! We will email you your gift certificate within 24 hours,

 usually less, after you sign up as a monthly partner. 

Need it sooner? Just email us at info@ordinaryhero.org.  

What are you waiting for? 

CLICK HERE to sign up as an 
OH Monthly Partner today

and receive our $25 Gift Certificate to you for the OH Store!

We can't thank you enough for coming 

alongside us in our mission!