Caitlin’s 18th Celebration (VIDEO)

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Caitlin is my sister. She is wonderful. A beautiful soul.

This is a recap video of her 18th birthday celebration – donated to Greg+Jannelle, YWAM Missionaries working with a number of organizations, using art and media to change the world for good.

Because Caitlin donated her birthday, Greg and Jannelle Althoff received roughly $200.

They are still in need of support. Go here to donate!

Sex+Money: A National Search for Human Worth

In 2007, a group of student photojournalists embarked on a journey through 20+ nations on every inhabitable continent, motivated by their love for photography and their passion for justice. At the outset, their experiences seemed diverse, even random. However, a common thread of human suffering would soon emerge as their travels exposed them to a dark, seldom discussed side of humanity– children being bought and sold to satisfy the sexual pleasures of other humans.

Upon returning to the United States the students produced a book called Sex+Money: A Global Search for Human Worth. This collection of photographs and stories explores the realities of human trafficking and offers readers a global perspective on the consequences of abusing two of the most powerful forces in the world: sex and money.

While researching to write their book, the young journalists were shocked to discover that the same injustice was happening on their own soil. Currently, across America, between 100,000 and 300,000 minors are being sexually exploited. Meanwhile, most Americans are oblivious to this staggering truth. As a result, what started as a Global Search for Human Worth became a National Search for Human Worth.

Sex+Money: A National Search for Human Worth is a feature length documentary that follows this group of journalists as they travel in an RV for a second journey, this time across the United States, seeking to understand how the sexual exploitation of children has become the nation’s fastest growing form of organized crime and what can be done to stop it.

The goal is that the Sex+Money documentary will result in bringing freedom to those enslaved.

They will be heading on a 50 State tour in August!

So stay tunes through their website for updates on where they will be and where you can check out a screening near you!

Pure Hope Pakistan Teaser

A friend of mine, Greg Althoff, just returned from Pakistan a few days ago and just released this teaser to build awareness of the flood that took place in Pakistan recently. He is apart of an organization called Pure Hope Pakistan, who is “committed to helping Pakistan recover from the recent tragic flooding.”

You can visit them on their website to help them provide 100,000 water filters to help the flood victims in Pakistan.

Open your Arms: A letter from the Founder of the Open Arms Foundation

At this moment, our arms are still able to open wide to these children. We need to take them in our open arms and embrace them, not allowing them to close. Let us not allow our arms to close to these children, let us be known to have changed these children’s lives, and not ignoring them.

Yes, we can embrace them across the ocean.

Yes, when you support Open Arms, you are helping the most needy child.

Yes, you can give hope to a child who has no other hope.

Support Open Arms today, it is a matter of humanity.

Below is a letter from the founder, explaining some new information of OAF’s financial state. Please read and consider giving to the Open Arms Foundation.

Stephen

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Hello Everybody,

The Open Arms Foundation has been receiving subcontracted municipal funds for over four years. During this time we have been able to work in an amiable alliance. Recently, however, the group with whom we have been serving has been asking us to give up our children to be transferred to other programs throughout the city. These programs have little or poor supervision which allows the kids to use drugs and openly practice homosexuality. As you may recall earlier in the spring, they took our girls in the residential ministry, then they took six of our older boys in the past couple of months, and now they want seven more. Some of our kids have even ended up back on the streets after being taken away from our care.

There are currently many boys on our farm who are refusing to go to the municipal government program. The entity requesting the boys has not paid us for two months. Last week they informed us that they will no longer be funding our level one Patio day program downtown where we receive up to 30 children daily.

I believe that the Lord has given us a stern warning in Jeremiah 23:1 (ESV): “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.” Therefore, we are compelled by this scriptural mandate to inform the entity which has been removing the children from our care that we will no longer be contracting with them. During the Fall 2009 Board meeting, the Open Arms International Board of directors made the decision to not renew current contracts or make any new contracts with the Municipal Government, unless OAF is assured through a contract that the children will remain under our care until they reach the age of 18 or are able to be reconciled with their family of origin.

By saying “no” to the government contracts, OAF will suffer a monthly $15,000 – $16,000 loss of income. We will be forced to lay off 60%-70% of our staff which has worked with us faithfully for years. OAF could potentially incur a huge labor salary settlement debt because we are terminating workers before the end of their contracts and we are laying workers off who have several years with the foundation.

We believe very strongly that the Lord has given us the children and they are with us for the specific purpose to raise up our children in the Lord, just as Psalm 92:13 (NKJV) states: “Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.” It grieves us to see the planting of the Lord plucked up before they have properly matured. In the past we have lost many young lives in the transition from the farm to the urban setting. This is the reason we started the Open Arms Church. Since starting the church or the family of God setting in the city, the transition process and our success rate both have greatly improved.

Please pray for the Open Arms Foundation.

Sincerely,
Bill Perrow

We have to close our Patio day programs this coming Monday due to lack of resources. This program is very important as the kids are initially rescued from the streets during this stage before they are able to move up to live in our Homes. It greatly saddens us to think about what will happen to our kids when they are no longer able to be in the safety of our programs during the day and will instead spend more time in the streets full of drugs, prostitution, and violence. Please pray for this very serious economic situation of the Open Arms Foundation and that the Lord would touch people´s hearts to give so that we can continue to rescue more children from the streets.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible financial contribution, please send a check to the following address:

The Open Arms Foundation
5345 Big Tyler Road
Cross Lanes, WV 25313

We are very appreciative of your financial support and prayers that make a huge difference in the lives of our kids!

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