Voice Box

go to Ethiopia this Fall with doma

 

The Challenge: 

The average Ethiopian woman will give birth to over 6 children, and 1 in 11 women in East Africa will die of childbirth related causes.  When a mother dies, children are orphaned; and there are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia.  Doma digs to the root of the problem.  Why are these homes grieving and broken?  Why is it that they have no access to simple healthcare?  Their days are spent in survival mode.  In Ethiopia, growing healthy families means removing obstacles to peace and joy, and preventing that which leads to more orphaned children and vulnerable women.

 

The Project:   

Doma will establish a Prenatal & Early Childhood Care Center in Bora, a village in the mountains of southern Ethiopia.  At this center, the mothers and mothers-to-be in and around Bora will be trained in simple healthcare practices and have access to prenatal and postnatal care, as well as pediatric care for their children.

 

The Opportunity:   

Dan Clark and Amber Kaufman from doma, and Steffany Boster from Because Every Mother Matters, are leading a Vision Trip to Ethiopia from November 1-13, 2010.  On this trip, you will travel with pastors, moms, activists, medical professionals, and business persons who are passionate and share your interest in Africa, orphaned children, and vulnerable women.  You will see real needs first hand and meet these needs in simple and immediate ways alongside of one of doma’s medical teams.  You will experience the first stages of the center doma is establishing.  You will build relationships with Ethiopians and come away with life-long friends.  You will have the opportunity to give to this and other projects, as well as come home inspired and informed to connect your families, churches, businesses, and communities to the adventure of generosity and compassion on behalf of orphaned children and vulnerable women.

 

The Details:

The team will travel from Monday, November 1^st to Saturday, November 13^th.  The cost to cover all your needs while in Ethiopia is $1250 per person.  This is a tax-deductible gift to doma, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  You will also need to purchase airfare in consultation with a doma staff person.  Additional cash for souvenirs, tips, and snacks is recommended.  If you are even considering this opportunity, please be sure that you have a valid and current US passport as soon as possible.  Go to www.travel.state.gov/passport for more information.

 

The Next Steps:

If you are considering traveling to Ethiopia with doma in November, please contact Dan at [email protected] or 614-648-3663 soon.  Doma’s experienced and professional team will guide you through the steps of preparing for your adventure of compassion in the beautiful country of Ethiopia.  See you on the Continent!

 

go to Russia this Fall with doma

 

The Challenge: 

Doma takes a look at orphanhood and gets to the ‘why’ behind it – we find the women most vulnerable to orphaning their children and empower them. There are long-lasting effects to growing up without a family, in extreme poverty, in an institution, in ‘the system’.  In Russia, growing healthy families means removing obstacles to peace and joy, and preventing that which leads to more orphaned children and vulnerable women.

 

The Project:   

Doma is establishing Young Mothers programs in the beautiful and historic European city of St. Petersburg as well as the small regional villages of Sudislavl and Galich in Kostroma.  In addition to providing holistic care and support for these mothers – most of whom were themselves orphaned and abandoned – and their children, Julie and the team will be hosting retreats, offering a mother’s day out, establishing a sexual trauma recovery group, and sharing the hope, inheritance, and power that is ours in Christ.  The team will also visit orphanages and babyhouses in the cities and regions of Russia.

 

The Opportunity:   

Julie Clark, co-founder and executive director of doma, is leading a Vision Trip to Russia from October 6-17, 2010.  You will travel with leaders, women, pastors, moms, activists, and business persons who are passionate and share your interest in Eastern Europe, mission, orphaned children, and vulnerable women.  You will see real needs first hand and meet these needs in simple and immediate ways.  You will build relationships with Russians and come away with life-long friends.  You will have the opportunity to give to this and other projects, as well as come home inspired and informed to connect your families, churches, businesses, and communities to the adventure of generosity and compassion on behalf of orphaned children and vulnerable women.

 

The Details:

The team will travel from Wednesday, October 6^th to Sunday, October 17^th.  The cost to cover all your needs while in Russia is $1250 per person.  This is a tax-deductible gift to doma, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  You will also need to purchase airfare in consultation with a doma staff person.  Additional cash for souvenirs, tips, and snacks is recommended.  If you are even considering this opportunity, please be sure that you have a valid and current US passport as soon as possible.  Go to www.travel.state.gov/passport for more information.

 

The Next Steps:

If you are considering traveling to Russia with doma in October, please contact Julie at [email protected] or 614-648-doma (3662) as soon as possible.  Doma’s experienced and professional team will guide you through the steps of preparing for your adventure of compassion in the beautiful country of Russia.

 

daddy, do your songs help orphans?

My son, Jude, is 4.  Which means we are having increasingly deep conversations - and a lot of them - and a lot of questions - mostly unanswerable questions.

But yesterday Jude asked me maybe one of the most important and insightful questions about my work as a minister and worship leader.

He knows daddies need to make money and he knows that I work for the church.  He's uncertain if I make money just on Sundays or when I go into the office, too.  Maybe that's a question a lot of church-goers have.  He also knows that mommy's work helps orphans.  So yesterday he asked me...

'Daddy, do your songs help orphans?'

I instantly thought of two poignant passages, from Amos 5 and James 1. 

So I'm asking myself, do my songs help the poor, do my songs bring justice, do my songs look after orphans and widows, do my songs bring righteousness?

I hope so.

friday listening party: Matt Maher finds God in orphans and widows, churches and bars

Matt Maher is a Catholic worship leader much-loved in evangelical and CCM circles.  He's best known for his songs, I Will Rise and Your Grace is Enough.  Here is a video that someone assembled for Matt Maher's song, No Greater Love.

And check out Matt performing it live here:

Here are the lyrics:

For the city, for the world we pray
Let Your light shine down
Come around and live in us
For the city, for the world we pray
Let Your light shine down
Come around and live in us
For the close and the far away
Everywhere You are
Everywhere

We lift high the banner of the cross
There is no greater love than this
No love but this
Jesus Christ laid down His life for us
There is no greater love than His
No love but His

To the city, to the world we go
Set us free, heal the land
You have promised, God, You can
To the last and the least we go
Everywhere You are
Everywhere

In the poor, in the broken
In the crowded city streets
In the towers, in the money
In the strong and in the weak
In the orphans and the widows
In the churches and the bars
You are everywhere
God, You are everywhere

go to Russia with Julie in October

Read this story, Join Me in Empowering Women and Embracing Children!, to learn more about my wife's heart and your opportunity to serve orphaned children and vulnerable women in Russia in October.

how to get robbed in Russia

I've been to Russia about a dozen times in the last six years.  My wife has been almost as many times, starting way back in the early 90s.  We've taken dozens of family and friends.  We've been on planes, trains, and automobiles, in villages and cities.

I've never been robbed. 

And I've only seen it once.  When Jerry Kaufman, the VP of Doma's board of directors, were in St. Petersburg, we saw some street thieves swipe a camera from the backpack of some wandeirng and clueless European tourists.

But I've never been robbed.

Today I spent a little time reading, among other things, Richard Stearns' The Hole in our Gospel, at Stauf's in Grandview.  At the next table, a college student was sharing about her desire to go to Siberia to study abroad.  But her family was afraid she'd be robbed and not helped by police her a too corrupt to care.

I know it happens, I've never been robbed.  But I will tell you this... I've been taken by the experience.

I learn more about myself, my friends and family, my God, and my place in God's world when I am among orphaned and vulnerable children, the poor, prisoners, refugees, the sick, and single moms.  My heart and mind are robbed, taken captive by their plight.  But then, in return, I am given so much more than I had before.  God generously inspires and invigorates us to care for people with different stories who live in different places.  And they care for us.  And God does too.  And in some strange way, I see it all coming together.

Consider this your invitation to have your heart robbed by becoming friends with orphaned children and vulnerable women.  Go with Julie to Russia in October.  You won't be sorry.  The plans are shaping up.  The time is approaching.  Email her at [email protected] to learn more.

mark your calendars for Doma's annual party

Doma's annual party will be Thursday, November 18th, at Boma in Columbus, Ohio!  Mark your calendars.  Email me at [email protected] if you would like to help plan and present this event.  It's going to be LEGENDARY!

hosting THE NINES online leadership conference at Mill Run

On September 9th Brodie Taphorn, I, and my church will be hosting a global leaders experience known as The Nines sponsored by Leadership Network and Catalyst at our Mill Run location.

The day will feature more than 100 great speakers.  You can find out more here.

To add to the experience, we want to invite you and your friends to come watch The Nines as a group at our location.  We will have some snacks, a big screen, and some drinks that day as well as some great discussions about the content presented.

We also hope this will help build stronger relationships among Christian leaders in our city.  We have no other agenda but to listen, learn and enjoy the day together.

It's free to attend our site, we simply want to build relationships and friendships.

Please plan to arrive before 11:00 AM on September 9th, 2010.

If you plan to join us, please email me at [email protected] so we can prepare.

a fork in the road

You can listen to my sermon from Sunday, August 15th, at UALC's Mill Run Xalt here:

A Fork in the Road

friday listening party: Radiohead's 'All I Need' to end exploitation and trafficking