Happy New Year From New Beginnings!2010 is already turning into a big year in terms of expanding the children, mothers and families reached by New Beginnings.We are training front-line workers about the joy of adoption in providing a baby, a mother and a family with a new life to increase the exposure of birthmothers to adoption planning and in return the number of children placed in forever families.The Nepal Orphan Home work is in full swing, we are serving 10 children after only a few months ages 2 months-5 years old. There is a group of American Christians who are traveling to Nepal this spring to help do construction and medical work for children and families there.Sanctity of Life Sunday is January 17th! Make sure to put it on your calendar!Stanton
New Beginning’s domestic adoption program is one of the foundations of our ministry to women in crisis pregnancy.With the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, the number of birthmothers opting to carry their pregnancy to term has decreased dramatically.Coupled with the greater acceptance of single parenting, the number of single pregnant women deciding to carry their child to term AND to place their child for adoption has dropped to less than 1%.The challenge for New Beginnings is to make sure that women with an unplanned pregnancy know the truth of what confidential or open adoption (the level of confidentiality or openness is entirely the birthmother’s choice) has to offer them and their expected child.Debbie Velie (Domestic Program Director, LBSW) and Renae Hellen (LBSW), our birthmother counselors, have done a very effective job of counseling with women and supporting them even when they do not choose adoption.
Unfortunately for honest birthmothers and adoptive families, the world of domestic adoptions has changed dramatically over the last 10 years.Where the emphasis used to be on the counseling of birthmothers to make good decisions for their expected child, the field is now dominated by for-profit, non-licensed adoption facilitators.These organizations typically charge $20,000 or more just to connect a family with a birthmother.The revenues generated enable them to have a very attractive presence on the internet and to advertise in newspapers and yellow pages throughout the country.Frequently birthmothers seeing these ads have no idea where the facilitator is geographically located and personal counseling is often waived in favor or receiving financial assistance with their pregnancy expenses.
We have placed 16 children for adoption through our domestic program thus far in 2008 and are currently working with six birthmothers who are making an adoption plan for their expected child.This compares with the placement of 17 children in 2008, but there are still a few days left in December!
Since some families choose to adopt independently through adoption attorneys without the benefit of pre- or post-adoption services, we also provide homestudies in Mississippi for these families at a very reasonable cost.In addition to increased outreach to churches, hospital social workers, school counselors and partnering with other Christian agencies around the country, we are seeking to build our domestic adoption program through advertising that targets the most vulnerable, pregnant birthmothers.
International Adoptions
We have experienced both successes and disappointments with our international adoption program this year.
Hague Accreditation: It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of attaining accreditation under the Hague Inter-Country Adoption Act.New Beginnings achieved 2-year temporary Accreditation in April 2008 and will finalize its 5-year Accreditation process in January 2010. This has been a long, arduous and expensive process.But without it, we would be crippled in our efforts to reach out to the orphaned children of the world with the hope of permanent families.Marcus Davenport (International Program Director) has become our resident expert “on all things Hague,” and our President, Tom Velie (LMSW) is an evaluator for the Council on Accreditation for site visits for other agencies.Our current Hague Accreditation does not expire until April 2010 so we are very comfortable with achieving our 5-year Accreditation in plenty of time.It is significant to note that several agencies which were denied Hague Accreditation have closed their doors.Even for countries which have not implemented the Hague Treaty, the gold standard for quality of services is Hague Accreditation by the Council on Accreditation.In addition, New Beginnings has the largest and best qualified team of Hague-qualified social workers in Mississippi. We are very thankful for the Lord’s help in achieving this level of professionalism.
Nepal Registration:Twenty-five American adoption agencies are registered in the country of Nepal and New Beginnings is thankful to be one of these agencies. Ten adoptive family dossiers are on file with the Ministry of Women, Children & Social Welfare in Kathmandu, Nepal awaiting their matches with children. Ten more families are in the process of completing their dossiers for 2010. Unfortunately, political unrest in Nepal has delayed the administrative process of matching the children in Nepal, but we are told that a new minister is now in place and that the process may proceed more smoothly.
Our Nepali Humanitarian Service Coordinator, Mr. Bobby Adhikari, through generous donations made by a wonderful Christian family, and through the “New Beginnings of Nepal” monthly partnership program donors, opened an orphan home for 10 children in June 2009. What a great testimony this is to the vision of the New Beginnings Founders, Stephen and Evelyn Drury, and to the dedication of “Brother Bobby.”
Poland:New Beginnings is now licensed with the Polish government to provide adoptive services in Poland and is accepting applications for this program. We have hired our Polish Representative and adoptive families can have confidence that their adoption process will proceed smoothly. This program is ideal for the adoptive family that is interested in adopting children over the age of five (some younger children may be available in sibling groups).
Other countries: New Beginnings is in the process of investigating and possibly opening other country programs in several countries. Information will be provided on this website when details are finalized. We are carefully considering other opportunities to reach out to children in orphanages in other parts of the world, but do not want to duplicate already successful programs by our partner agencies.
Summary: It is difficult to write such a short summary of the activities of our agency for an entire year.Our staff has done a remarkable job under very trying circumstances and I am proud of each of them.Some are well known to our clients and some work behind the scenes.But each has made a contribution to our mission.
Please join us in praying for increased activity in 2010 and the opportunity for more children to find their permanent homes. Every Child Deserves a Forever Family.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5,6
Trust is a scary thing. It’s a part of faith that’s beautiful and real. But it’s only worth anything if the object we put our trust and faith in is trustworthy. Jumping out of a plane on a skydive involves putting a whole lot of trust in a parachute. Getting onto a plane involves putting a whole lot of trust in the pilot. Going to a doctor involves putting a great deal of trust in his knowledge and ability to treat you for an illness. You get the picture. In the same way, when a birth mother chooses adoption, she is placing a great deal of trust into the people involved in the process. She’s trusting us, as an agency, with the huge responsibility of finding the perfect family for her child. She’s trusting the adoptive parents to love and care for her child with all the love and care parents are capable of giving. This precious life…the life of her baby…she’s entrusting to someone else because she feels that they would be better able to care for him or her than she would, for whatever reason. Adoption is never an easy decision or an easy thing to do for birth mothers. We’ve seen these girls first hand love their babies, and we’ve witnessed their desire to be able to parent them. But God bless these sweet birth mothers who want more for their children than they can give to them, and who love them to the point of asking for help in finding a family who can give to them all they need. What trust these birth moms are displaying with their decision….
More than anything else, what we want each of our birth mothers to realize and to know down to their depth of their being is that there’s a God who is sovereign, even over their choice, and who is worthy of trust. He has these children in the palm of His hand and wants good things for them. He knows these birth mothers, better than anyone else ever could, and also wants good things for them. When we trust Him, instead of our own logic or feelings, He directs our path. And His direction is always best. It might not always be easy or make sense, but it’s always good in the ultimate sense of the word.
Our Celebration of Adoption banquet was a success this year. It was held on October 20th, a perfect Tuesday evening. Michael Reagan served as our speaker at the banquet. He shared his personal story of his adoption by Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman and shared a bit of his own life’s journey since that time. There was a full house to hear Reagan speak and to support and celebrate the gift of adoption. Adoptive families dotted the crowd, each with a story of how adoption had blessed their lives and the lives of their children, each a testimony to the goodness of adoption. Musical entertainment for the evening was provided on the piano by a young man, who was himself adopted as an infant, and by two violin-playing sisters who were adopted from China. T.K. Moffett, attorney, was honored during the banquet for his selfless work on behalf of children and families touched by adoption. Overall, the evening was a successful reminder of how adoption is an offer of hope to birth mothers, children, and families, and how it is such a beautiful blessing to those whose lives God touches through it. Thanks and praise be to Him who adopted us as His own, and Who has further allowed countless numbers of people to be blessed through the miracle of adoption in their families!
If Jesus, the Christ, died on Calvary for “the sins of the whole world,” as the Bible tells us. And, if that amazing death and it’s life-giving awe applies to every man that will ever be born. And, if He knows all about each and every one of us before we are born (Psalms 139).
Then…He died for the unborn child.
Now…if the even unborn child is worthy of the death of the Jesus…do you suppose that life just might be priceless…and worthy of life?
Things are busy, busy around the office of New Beginnings. Between a number of adoptions in August and September, several speaking engagements and conferences, preparation for Celebration of Adoption, meetings, and more meetings, our staff has been fluttering with activity. But activity is a good thing if its for a purpose and leads to good results. Activity doesn’t have to be just busyness, and busyness doesn’t have to be productive. A person can be thoroughly busy and still be not positively progressing forward. So it’s important that we constantly remind ourselves of the vision put before us and of why we do what we do. We’re here to help others…to reach out and love, to be a vessel of God’s love and light to the world. May our activity always result in blessings for others and glory to God.
We are still in St. Louis at the UPCI General Conference. We were very proud of one of our birthmothers the other day when she addressed 48 National Youth Leaders of the United Pentecostal Church. She told them of the need for making other girls aware of New Beginnings and how our presence and information at conferences had saved her child’s life and given her a fresh start.
In other news the response our appeal for sponsors of the Children in the New Beginnings of Nepal Orphan Home has been great. We are excited that after two days we are halfway to goal of 48 sponsors. We hope that you will consider helping us provide for God’s children on the other side of the world.
Have a great day! Remember to pray for mothers and children across the country and us here NBI.
Mississippi is the host to a wonderful program…Choose Life Car Tags.
When you purchase your next license plate please remember that Choose Life License Plates support crisis pregnancy centers and adoption programs like New Beginnings in your state.
Choose life also provides training to these centers as well as free resources like literature and grants for the needs of the centers.
A lot of the office staff (Tom, Debbie, Brenda, Marcus, and Stanton) are in St. Louis MO this week for the UPCI General Conference. We have a booth in the Exhibit Area. Come by and see us if you have any questions about New Beginnings or just want chat!
Wow! What whirlwind this week has been @ New Beginnings. We are getting ready to travel to St. Louis, MO for the United Pentecostal Church’s Annual General Conference. We will have our Nepal Director, Bobby Adhikari with us to meet new families and officials. We are so excited about the new children coming in from Nepal!
In a few weeks our Annual Celebration of Adoption is taking place in Tupelo, MS and we are set to have record attendance and record fundraising.
I am also excited to be able to announce that New Beginnings is about to be accredited fully by the Hague International Courts. This is HUGE! It means NBI has achieved the highest level of accreditation that an agency can have. Much Thanks to Marcus Davenport and Exec. Dir. Tom Velie for putting in the time.
All of these things would be meaningless if it weren’t for the mission: Placing Children in Forever Families and Helping Women in Crisis Pregnancies.
So far we have had a year that has seen 10 families open their homes to children from the other side of the world…across the country or two counties away…. we have seen birthmothers open their hearts and make a plan for their child’s life by giving him or her a loving home with two parents.
A lot of stuff going on…but the mission always comes first!
Over the weekend a new baby was born and placed in a forever family at New Beginnings. This precious boy, Edward, will know the embrace and love of a mother and father through the miracle of his birthmother placing him with a forever family.