doorofhope-ourfamilynews-mar2019

Our Family News
March 2019
“The God of heaven
will make us prosper
and we his servants
will arise and build”
- Nehemiah 1:20)

WE HOPE AND PRAY YOU HAVE HAD
A GOOD START TO 2019. FOR US, IT
HAS BEEN A MIXED BEGINNING.
It is still early in the year but already there have been
a couple sizeable and unexpected challenges thrown
into our path. First, proposals have been put forward
to amend the South African Child Protection Act.
These amendments, if passed, could have devastating
consequences in the adoption arena, very likely bringing
them to a grinding halt. Door of Hope, and similar
organisations, would be severely hampered in our work
of finding forever families for children needing a home
(Follow links below to read more about the situation*).
Second, our building plans at the village have been
stalled due to a, seemingly unreasonable, rezoning
process. As you know, we are establishing the Children’s
Village as an additional solution for children needing
a home and not finding it through adoption. In order
to continue our building projects, we need our land to
be rezoned by the authorities and given the suitable
permissions for development and use. We were told at
the beginning of this year that our imminent plans for
building the next houses must stop immediately due to
environmental reasons that, to us, appear unreasonable.
There are other challenges, too, but these are the two
biggest, at present.
Yet, God has been reminding us that we are not alone. He,
the sovereign King, goes with us. Recently, I have been
led to reflect on the story of Ezra and Nehemiah in the
Bible. These men led remnants of Israel out of exile and
back to their homeland to rebuild its temple and city.
They, too, faced many challenges and building was even
forcibly stopped for a time. But God led them to victory
in due course. We would be naive to think the path we
are walking will be easy and straightforward. Our task is
to remain faithful to God and obedient to Him, walking
closely in step, and trusting that He will work sovereignly,
in His time, in the areas we cannot. Just as God worked
in the hearts of King Cyrus and King Artaxerxes moving
them to look favourably on Ezra and Nehemiah,
respectively; please pray that God would work in the
hearts of those in authority to look upon us favourably.
May God accomplish His plans for the saving of many
children and to show His great goodness and glory.
“May the God who has caused his
name to dwell there overthrow [anyone]
who shall put out a hand to alter this or
to destroy this house of God”
(Ezra 6:12)
*Why Adoption is a problem in South Africa – by Dee Blackie
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2019-01-17-why-adoption-is-a-problem-in-south-africa/
Access to adoptions will decline if Children’s Act amendments are passed – by Robyn Vorster
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2019-01-07-access-to-adoptions-will-decline-if-childrens-act-amendmentsare-passed/?fbclid=IwAR0wbcI1pYlGr2bE146DMNE4aH68sbgAjtTwTnpJZo-SEbvGWD6BqMZ9tHU#.XDL5m4nSz5g.facebook
We have our own fundraising page on GivenGain. Here you
can donate to one of our projects - choose from assisting
with our everyday needs through to one of our major events.
doorofhope.givengain.org

BABY NEWS
Our precious Baby Boy S will be moving to his new home soon.
We were blessed to welcome this child into our home in July 2018 who
was born prematurely after surviving a failed abortion. He had not
even been in our care for 2 weeks when we had to rush him to ICU for
breathing difficulties and a very high temperature. The ICU doctor
informed us that the hospital we received him from should have not
discharged him because he was so fragile. He spent almost 2 months in
hospital before he could finally settle into our family.
Unfortunately, because of his medical condition, we
are not able to give Baby Boy S the medical care that
he needs. After months of trying to get him into a
special needs home, he will finally move there soon.
We are going to miss him so much but will keep in
touch with his new home and even visit him. It has
been a true blessing for us to witness his growth and
development. He is a super special boy and we give
God all the glory for how far he has come! We pray
that somewhere out there is a very special forever
family for him. Until then, he will continue to receive
love and care from us and his new home.
We want to use this space to say thank you to every single person getting involved and
helping Door of Hope and our babies. Not just this month but every month. We won’t
be where we are if we did not have God’s blessing and your support. THANK YOU!
If you want to get involved email us at info@doorofhope.co.za

JOIN US FOR
THE UV RUN!
SATURDAY, 30 MARCH 2019
Choose Door of Hope as the charity of your
choice at registration and a portion of the
proceeds will go to support our mission.
To learn more visit www.glow4events.com or visit our Facebook page!

TODDLER NEWS
Over the past month there has been a lot of
interest in transport, especially because we have
had a lot of different vehicles on our Village
property where our “Play and Learn Centre” is! Our
children have enjoyed watching these vehicles
from a distance (we get a little nervous if they get
too close). We also love to ride in our school bus on
the way to our “Play and Learn Centre” each day,
and sometimes we like to sing The Wheels on the
Bus while we ride.
At the village, we have had a little yellow
digger working on various projects. Usually,
his appearance prompts our children to sing,
“Varooooom went the little yellow digger in the
ditch…”. The tractors and trucks in our playground
are the perfect toys to imitate the vehicles we
see. We also had a concrete truck come and pour
concrete by our playground. The concrete truck
was very loud and made us a little nervous as he
reversed up behind our “Play and Learn Centre,”
so we clung on tight to our aunties, but we didn’t
want to leave! We were fascinated with the way
the concrete truck kept turning around as it mixed
the concrete, and then got really excited when the
concrete mix started pouring down the chute.
The new concrete path is the perfect place to
ride our bikes.
The hanging barrel in our playground has become
a tractor and our children often race each other
there so they can “drive” it first. A few of our books
are full of pictures of different transport, and when
we see the picture of the fire truck, we begin
singing, “Fire truck, fire truck, I want to ride in a fire
truck…” (We have discovered there is a song for
just about every type of vehicle.) We also love to
guess which car belongs to whom on the village
property, and we are pretty good at remembering
most of the time!

VOLUNTEER TEAMS
Door of Hope Village is a beautiful piece of property full of life and
potential located in De Deur on the south side of Johannesburg. Though
it abounds with promise, our vision for the village could not be reached
were it not for help from a variety of local and international volunteer
teams. These teams come to the village to help maintain this evergrowing
land, to develop new spaces, and to build, block by block,
so that this place might continue to transform into a village of
hope for some of God’s most vulnerable children.
So far this year we have had 4 different teams
come to volunteer at the village. The North Carolina
Baptists on Mission have already sent two groups:
a group of 4 in January and a group of 9 in February.
The February team, led by concrete expert Skip
Greene, persevered through rain and mud to build
a retaining wall and lay a concrete walkway outside
the “Play and Learn Centre” that will provide clean
and easy access to the play area for our children.
This was Tom and Barbara Burns’ first time on an
international mission trip, but they are pretty sure
it won’t be their last. When asked what advice
they had for someone else considering coming to
volunteer of Door of Hope, they quickly responded,
“It was hard work, harder than we thought it would
be, but so worthwhile. You’ll come back with so
much more than what you have given.”
“These teams come to the village to
help maintain this ever-growing land,
to develop new spaces, and to build,
block by block, so that this place
might continue to transform into
a village of hope for some of God’s
most vulnerable children”
Local teams enjoy coming to volunteer at the
village as well. A group from St. Paul’s United
Church came to the village on a Saturday in
February to cut grass, paint a jungle gym, and make
blocks to be used in future building endeavours.
This team will return in May to help again. Team
member, Janine Brown, told me they have chosen
to invest in Door of Hope Village because, “As a
church we know that pew-warming is not what
our faith is about…. The problem of abandoned
children is also our problem. As the church, we
need to own this problem, practically.” Churches
are not the only ones choosing to be a part of the
solution. Corporate teams, like a group from ACCA,
also join with Door of Hope to serve their local
community together.
You, too, can be a part of this life-giving work.
Though the work is construction-style labour, it
does not require any specialised skills. Church
teams, corporate teams and people of all ages,
from all over the world can come and help us
build a place of hope for the children entrusted
in our care. To learn more please contact teams@
doorofhope.co.za. To see our teams in action visit
us on Facebook.

US OFFICE UPDATE
The US office of Door of Hope has both encouraging
progresses to report, as well as serious prayer concerns
to present to our faithful supporters.
The most urgent prayer need is for 501(3)(c)
non-profit status to be granted in the US. The
application was submitted on November 28, 2018,
with the hope that it would be approved within
four to six months. However, this was well before
the US federal government shutdown, and it is
unknown how much time this will add to the
process. Please pray for a miraculous parting of the
sea of governmental paperwork so that our nonprofit
status can be granted.
We’d like to introduce you to our new board
member on the US team, Brenda Kelling. Brenda
is from Marietta, Georgia and we are thankful for
the great energy, enthusiasm and compassion she
brings to our work.
In the past few months, Door of Hope
representatives in the US have presented the
ministry to churches and individuals in North
Carolina, Virginia and Iowa. We are praising the
Lord that from those churches three “cots” (cribs)
have been adopted. Our “Adopt-a-Cot” program
allows individuals or groups to cover all expenses
for a single child and then commit to praying for
that precious child.
12 short-term mission teams from American
churches and 1 group from Holland are scheduled
to serve at the Village in 2019. We are thankful
to note that more than half of that number are
returning workers, as well as a significant number
of teams that will be first-time servants at Door of
Hope.
In March, Elaine will be leading two breakout
sessions at the “North Carolina Baptists on Mission”
annual conference. This is a significant opportunity
to present the ministry in greater detail and to
generate both financial and prayer support, as
well as future volunteer teams. Baptist churches
in North Carolina send representatives to this
conference, seeking ministries with which their
churches can partner.
We praise the Lord for the growing US support
for Door of Hope. The urgent prayer needs are for
non-profit status approval from the US federal
government as well as significant and imminent
capital investment. Thank you for your prayers and
financial support.

Latest Stats
1658
Babies
saved since 1999
692
successful
adoptions
213
Babies SAVED via
our “BABYBOX”
to date
74
currently
in our care

ADOPT-A-COT
Big Girl S is a 4-year-old who loves spending her
weekdays at the “Play and Learn Centre” located at
the Village. She is now the big sister in the group, the
oldest girl, and she loves this responsibility. Big Girl
S has a group of 4 families caring for her through our
Adopt-a-Cot program. These families have combined
their resources to make sure Big Girl S has food, health
care, housing, education, and the love and care she
needs to live a full and healthy life.
Big Girl S
Baby Boy L is a quiet observer at eight months. He sits
back and takes in his surroundings before joining in the
fun. It may take a minute to get a smile out of him, but it
is worth it when he does. Baby Boy L is blessed to have a
whole corporate team supporting him! Each month the
employees of his sponsoring company receive a letter
with pictures, stories, and updates on his development.
Baby L
We currently have a total of 7 children
sponsored through our Adopt-a-Cot program.
Businesses, church groups, and individuals
give monthly to sponsor these children in
our care. We love keeping these supporters
up-to-date on their Adopt-a-Cot children. We
especially love sharing when one of these
children have been adopted by their forever
family and are always excited to introduce our
supporters to their new Adopt-a-Cot child.
We are so grateful that these 7 children are
receiving financial and prayerful support by
such generous people, but there are so many
more children at Door of Hope who could use
this kind of dedicated assistance. Would you
consider joining our Adopt-a-Cot program?
Your monthly donation of R5000 (US$380)
provides food, nappies (diapers), medication,
education, hope, and love to a child in our
care. For more information visit: https://
doorofhope.co.za/adopt-a-cot/ or email
adopt-a-cot@doorofhope.co.za

REZONING FAQ’S
At Door of Hope one of our repeated prayer requests is for the rezoning process at the Village. Chances are
many of you know exactly what that means and can pray for the specific effects rezoning has on our building
plans at the Village. But there may be a few of you who, like me, smile and nod when you hear the word
rezoning, offering prayers that go something like: “God, I have no idea why this rezoning is such a big deal,
but you do. Could you handle that please?”
If this is your prayer and you want to know more about what you are praying for, maybe this will help.
WHAT IS REZONING?
Certain parcels of land are zoned for specific
purposes. If you want to use the land for
a purpose other than the one for which it
is zoned, you must go through a rezoning
process to get permission.
WHAT DOES
REZONING ENTAIL?
Rezoning requires the completion of several
assessment reports, such as an environmental
impact assessment, traffic assessments, site
development plans, and a whole lot more.
These reports are conducted by various
specialists and officials and need to be
approved by several different governmental
departments. They can often
be quite subjective.
HOW CAN I PRAY?
Please pray that our rezoning application
is completed and granted quickly. Pray that
those who are completing these assessments
and reports will be able to see the hope and
vision of the village and will do everything
they can to help us make this dream a reality.
Pray that these reports come back with as
little impact as possible and that we will be
cleared to begin building soon. Pray that those
of us here at Door of Hope Village will not get
discouraged and will persevere as we seek
to be faithful to God’s call.
HOW CAN I HELP?
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR
DOOR OF HOPE VILLAGE?
The land purchased for Door of Hope Village
is zoned as agricultural property. In order
to see the vision for the village come to
fruition, this land has to be rezoned from
agricultural to institutional. Rezoning is a
lengthy process with a lot of moving pieces
and so, with permission, we began building
according to agricultural zoning guidelines
while the rezoning process was underway.
We have recently been informed, however,
that we shouldn’t necessarily have been given
permission and our ability to continue doing
construction at the village has been delayed.
Consider making a donation to Door of Hope.
This process is quite expensive, and we are
relying on the generosity of our donors to help
make this dream a reality. You can give
online by clicking here.
Also, consider bringing a group to volunteer
at the village. There is much to be done as we
continue in our efforts to develop this land
into a safe place for God’s children. For more
information, email teams@doorofhope.co.za

But most importantly,
please join us in prayer:
Lord, God of heaven,
You have given us this land and charged
us to build a village for your children.
Stir our spirits and move in our hearts
that we might be inspired to join in
your work at Door of Hope Village.
Jesus, Ruler of all,
The process has been stalled by the
rezoning process and at times we feel
frustrated and discouraged. But we
know that you reign over all things and
so we ask you to intervene so that we
might begin building again.
Spirit of the Living God,
Move in the hearts of the specialists
and officials as they make decisions
about our property. Inspire them to act
with urgency and to do everything they
can to help make this process move
smoothly and quickly. Grant our staff
courage and persistence as we seek to
remain faithful to your call.
Father, Son, & Spirit, Great Three-In-One,
May all this be accomplished so that
your name will be glorified in all the
earth. Amen.

Urgent
needs!
Nan Optipro formula
Tin Tuna, Tin beans
Peanut butter
Pronutro, Oats, Corn flakes
Long Life milk
Baby Hair and body wash
Tissues
Auto washing powder
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Door of Hope 15 Barbara Avenue, Glenvista, 2091, South Africa
Telephone: +27 11 432 2797
Email: info@doorofhope.co.za www.doorofhope.co.za
Non-Profit Organisation: 009-149 • Public Benefit Organisation (Tax Exemption): 9208/629/15/5. All donations are tax deductible. Section 18A certificates
issued on request. Please provide full name and mailing address. Bequests are exempt from payment of Estate duty.