The Zboch Family's Newest Member

Below is great news from the Zboch family who are currently in China adopting their new son:

Hello Friends and Family...Ni hao... That's Chinese for Hi; How are you?

We made it to China! Wow! That's one looong flight... over 25 hours with 2 hours of travel by train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou. That's quite a trek but definitely worth it!

Monday was Gotcha Day! What an incredible day! We were so excited to meet Greg after all this time and yet a bit nervous about how he would feel about his new mama and baba (Chinese for papa).

When he entered the room, he looked at me and with a smile said, "Mama!" It was one of the sweetest words I have ever heard. After a brief visit, we left hand in hand with a big smile on all our faces! (The attached picture is of us leaving the Civil Affairs Office.)

Now if a Mama could brag for just a little... Greg is an amazing little boy with a smile that just lights up his whole face! He has a great sense of humor and is quite the comedian! We have laughed so much, and our guide is always translating with a giggle something cute Greg has said. He knows his numbers 1 to 10, letters in English, and quite a few words. His English is coming along much better than his parents' attempts at Chinese! And for such a little guy, he eats a TON... as much as we do! I am going to be one busy, cooking Mama keeping all these boys fed. Thankfully, he seems to like just about everything.

It's incredible the joy and laughter that he has already brought to our lives! Marc said last night that Greg is just full of surprises! This morning as Marc was doing one of his yoga handstand moves (that is quite impressive I must add), Greg got down right beside him and started doing headstands!

Today we headed back to the civil affairs office to adopt Greg. So now it is official - we have a precious new son. Looking back over this past year as we finally stepped out in faith to the call God placed on our hearts, it has been an awesome journey. It has had its share of challenges but mountaintop joys, too. Along the way we have had a sense of peace in our hearts that could only come from God.

Marc and I have been so touched by your encouragement, enthusiasm, support and all your prayers! Thanks be to God for this wonderful blessing in our lives and to you for all the prayers. We can't wait for you to meet our son, Greg Xinguan Zboch!

With love,

Marc and Pam

The Blind Side

I almost never recommend a movie to anyone. This is primarily because I only see two or three a year, usually involving Indiana Jones. However, “The Blind Side” is quite different. While I cannot recommend everything in the movie, this true story is both compelling and heartbreaking.

This story likely will motivate you to examine the purpose of your life. Our culture is full of children – newborns through teens – who need a chance. This is a movie that could change the future for millions of them. Could you make a difference in the life of a child? Are you the answer to a soul being saved or a life rescued? Is God calling you to change the culture itself? Perhaps you should see the film, and then consider looking into foster care, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, inner-city mentoring or adoption. See the trailer here.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
James 1:27

Obeying the Call

Lysa TerKeurst, a nationally known speaker and author with Proverbs 31 Ministries, published an inspiring post about the joys of adoption and of obeying God. Check it out on her blog here.

While you're there, scroll down and check out the video of Lysa and her amazing adoption story that appeared on Oprah. Or just view it here.

Answering the Call

Tomoka Christian Church is truly a body of Christ followers. Your response to the call for an adoptive family for Sheila was amazing. Thank you for answering the call of Christ which was heard through the cry of a lone teenager in Ghana.

We have forwarded your emails — some from out of state — to Kevin and Cara Boone, who are in Ghana this week picking up their daughter, Ruth. I am sure that we will soon have another report from Cara on Sheila (the two are pictured here) and her search for a family. When Cara returns and spends a few days acclimating Ruth to a new life, she will get us the needed information for adoption procedures and we will make sure that you are updated.

I want to remind you that “some estimates put the number of orphans at 50 million while other estimates put the number as high as 200 million. Sadly the orphans are even abandoned by the statistics.” There is never a shortage of children looking for a family. Prayerfully, Sheila’s cry has brought to our attention again the need for the body of Christ to step up and care for the orphans. And what better way to celebrate National Adoption Month in October than to have 25-30 families from Tomoka Christian begin the process to bring their child home from around the world!

I know that God has spoken to many of you whether you e-mailed us or not. I challenge each of you to take action on what He has placed on your hearts to do whether it is to adopt or to help make it financially possible for another "Sheila" to find her Mommy.
…To Be Continued

Young girl aches for a family of her own

Cara and Kevin, friends of the Tomoka Christian family, are working through paperwork to adopt a young girl, Ruth, from Ghana. In their visits to Ruth at her orphanage in Ghana, they met another child, Sheila, who is Ruth's best friend. Sheila's deepest desire is for a family of her own. Adoption requirements are few and costs have been reduced, but time is running out. Below is a note Cara sent me about Sheila's situation. Please e-mail me if you can help her.

I am sending out a desperate plea to all my God-fearing friends: We need to find a family for Sheila, a sweet, godly, wonderful 14-year-old girl living in Ghana.

Sheila has been praying for a family for years. I told her that I would make it my personal mission to help find her one. A few weeks ago she got the chance to call me and the first thing she asked was, "Did you find me a mommy yet?" I had to tell her no. When I go to Ghana next week, I would love to be able to tell her that God has brought her a family. Someone, please be the answer to this sweet girl's prayer! Time is running out for her as she is about to turn 15. The U.S. government will not allow children to be adopted once they turn 16. The process has to be finished before they turn 16. Sheila is such a kind, humble, peaceful, loving soul. The only thing she needs is a family and a chance.

Says Sheila: "My prayer is that someone that you will send my picture to will accept me as their child and have mercy on me because I am no one. People always say that I don't have a mother. Please, please have mercy on me."

The enemy has sold this sweet girl a lie: Having her believe, because she is an orphan, she is no one. Who is willing to show Sheila that she is not "no one"? She is someone very special in Christ. He cares for her! As the body of Christ, so do we. Please allow Jesus to come to her rescue through you!

Because of her desperate situation, the fees for her adoption have been greatly reduced and several people already have volunteered to raise money to help with the cost of her adoption. Please don't let money be an obstacle!

Requirements for adoption:

• Must be 21 years older than the child. In this case, one of the parents must be at least 35 years old
• Must be married
• Must be Christian

The first time I met her, she was bent over stirring a pot of banku over a small charcoal stove. When I looked a little closer, I saw that she was silently weeping as she worked to make lunch for the 30 children living at her orphanage. I bent down to look her in the eye and asked her what was wrong. She wouldn't return my gaze, but instead wiped away her tears and said, "I am so happy that my best friend, Ruth, has found such a wonderful mother. I am going to miss sister Ruth and I pray one day a woman will come for me and she will be my mommy forever."

Needless to say, my heart was broken for sweet Sheila. I promised her that day that I would help her on her journey to find a mama and a family.

Sheila looks just like her birth mother. They both have light skin and a long face. They both radiate beauty from the inside out. Sheila loved her mother dearly, but her mother passed away. Unable to care for her, Sheila's father took her to the orphanage and left her there.

Sheila is a smart girl and loves school. Unfortunately, the orphanage where she is staying cannot pay for her to go to school anymore and she had to drop out of school this year. Sheila is very sad about this. She has dreams of one day becoming a journalist.

Sheila loves to sing and dance to Jesus. As the oldest girl in the orphanage, Sheila has had to take on the mother figure role for 30 other children. She is very nurturing and a hard-worker, but she has been robbed of her childhood and forced to grow up far too early.

Real Religion

I received some statistics about the worldwide orphan crisis from Duane Hull of Orphan’s Lifeline International.

• Around the world, 42,000 children become orphans every day.
• Nearly 150 million children are orphans worldwide.
• The number of orphans worldwide is expected to grow to 250 million in five years, and about 400 million by 2015.
• 10.8 million children under age 5 die each year from preventable causes (30,000 each day)
• Almost 41% of all child deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
• 50% of worldwide deaths in children under 5 occur in six countries (India leads with 20%, followed by Nigeria, China, Pakistan, Congo. Statistics show that 90% of child deaths occur in 42 underdeveloped countries.
• Orphan children in poor nations are suffering through malnutrition, disease, abandonment and neglect. They are victimized, exploited and abused.

My question to you: Is God asking you to do something about it? Tomoka Christian's Bringing Children Home ministry helps with adoptions. Find out more about it by calling the church office.

FYI: A portion of every dollar given to Tomoka Christian goes toward this ministry.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

Words of gratitude

Below is a thoughtful note I received from the Torres family of Tomoka Christian. They are planning to move out of state.

Dear Pastor Joe and our Tomoka Church Family,

As our time here in Ormond Beach comes to an end, we wanted to express our sincere gratitude and admiration for all that you are doing to spread the word of God locally, statewide, and across international boundaries.

It is not often one finds a place that not only "talks the talk" but actually "walks the walk" of spreading the will of Christ. From the moment that we joined this church, we have been dreading when the time would come to leave ... and, unfortunately, that time is now. Although we will surely join a church in Mobile, we know that it will be difficult to find a place of worship with such influence and, more importantly, influential action.

As a person who worked hard for years at pushing Him away, it was Tomoka that finally opened up my heart. I often tell the story of when Tomoka sent us a generous check to help us with the adoption costs, all with absolutely no strings attached. To me (to us) that meant so much and truly showed us that awesome things are truly impacting the world — all from our little church in Ormond Beach. God, through your church, has made a believer out of a skeptic, and for that, I cannot thank you enough.

May God continue to bless this remarkable church,

Roberto & Jennifer Torres
(Ariana, Mateo, David)