Christmas is just around the corner, and this year we are planning an incredible day of celebration for our children at Royal Seed Home.  We can think of no better way to share the love of God at Christmastime than by bringing great joy and creating happy memories for the children and caregivers of Royal Seed Home.

Last Christmas, Worship In Action sponsored a full-day celebration at the orphanage. Imagine the joy on 180 children’s faces when truckloads of hot food arrived at their gate! It was an incredible day of feasting, singing, dancing and celebrating the miracle of Christmas.

This Christmas, Worship In Action is giving every child at Royal Seed Home a brand new Bible and a feast on Christmas Day. Will you join us in creating a special Christmas memory for our kids? A gift of $25 guarantees one child experiences a personalized touch from God this Christmas. Thank you.

Who do you turn to when you need prayer? The book of Acts tells us about the life of the early church, how they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship and to prayer. Daily, followers of Jesus witnessed salvations, miracles of healing, deliverances, and angelic releases from prison.

Whenever I visit Royal Seed Home in Ghana, I am struck by how similar the daily life of the children is to the early Christian church. Naomi, Mother of the home, has created a culture where praise and prayer is at the very heart of the orphanage. Children begin their day in prayer. They gather in the courtyard before the school bell rings to sing and to pray. They have an “upper room” where a chaplain leads an afternoon prayer session. And, just before dinner, the kids come together in the courtyard to praise and pray. It’s beautiful. And, it’s powerful. Imagine how the prayers of these children move God and change outcomes!

One of our Worship in Action team leaders, Kathy Law, recently visited Ghana. She, too, observed the children’s powerful prayers of intercession. I’ve asked her to share with you below about her experience in Ghana, and how the prayers of the children of RSH have impacted her life.

God Bless You,
Don

It is an honor to work with Don and Worship In Action. Don genuinely cares for people, and this is especially evident by his commitment to WIA. One of my duties as a WIA staff member is to visit Royal Seed Home in Ghana. I enjoy arriving early in the morning to serve breakfast, teach in the school, and observe in awe how this very large family of 200+ children goes peacefully about the day. The best part of all is joining the children during their prayer sessions. If you ever need a miracle, these children are ones you want praying for you.

My husband, Scot, was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer. While in surgery, I contacted Naomi of RSH and asked her to have the children pray. I found great comfort knowing a beautiful group of children in Ghana were interceding for my husband. We had many specific prayer requests, and the Lord answered every single one.

One of our goals for 2017 is to give our partners an opportunity to visit Ghana and to serve at Royal Seed Home. If this is something that interests you, please email me at kathy@worshipinaction.org. A trip to Ghana would certainly be a life-changing experience.

Sincerely,
Kathy Law

Have you followed the news of the civil war in Syria? If you have not, here’s what you need to know:

1. The conflict began in March 2011 when a pro-democracy protest erupted in the southern city of Deraa after the arrest and torture of teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. Security forces fired upon and killed several demonstrators, which triggered a nationwide protest and demand for the resignation of President Hasaad. Protestors grew in numbers, took up arms, and by June 2013, the country was in a full-scale civil war.

2. To date, more than 320,000 people have died in the war, including nearly 12,000 children. The entire infrastructure of the country (housing, roads, healthcare, education, etc.) has collapsed, creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

3. Millions of children have experienced unspeakable violence, death, hunger and sickness. They have also missed years of school during crucial developmental phases of childhood.  According to World Vision, “Between 2 million and 3 million Syrian children are not attending school. The war reversed 10 years of progress in education for Syrian children.”

What can we do as concerned followers of Christ?

1. We can pray. Pray for the presence of Jesus to meet people in their darkest moments. Pray for angelic visitations. Ask God to confuse and stop the works of the evil one in Syria. Pray for peace to return to Syria, home to many brothers and sisters in Christ.

2. Make a donation. All gifts given to Worship In Action and directed to our “Syrian Refugee Crisis” Fund, provide food aid, health assistance, sanitary water and other critical supplies to refugees. When we put our worship into action through meeting practical needs of hurting people, God is always faithful to reveal his love, healing and salvation.

In the month of March, Worship In Action is partnering with Operation Blessing (one of America’s most proactive Christian charities) to combat the spread of Zika virus in Central and South America. This outreach will provide families living in hardest hit areas with insect repellent; bed nets; fumigation; education about the virus; and assistance cleaning areas where standing water breeds mosquitoes. Mosquito-eating fish such as Sambo, Tilapia, and Gambusia are also placed in water sources to eat mosquito larvae. This as a low-cost, practical way to stop the growth of mosquito populations in and around homes where the virus spreads.

What is Zika virus? How Does It Spread?
Zika virus is similar to other mosquito transmitted diseases such as Dengue, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, and West Nile virus. It spreads to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito during daytime hours. Aedes mosquitoes live and breed in water vessels, which commonly store water around homes without indoor plumbing systems. The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus a “public health emergency of international concern.” And, although the virus currently impacts Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands, cases have also been reported in the US and elsewhere.

Who Are Most Vulnerable?
Pregnant women and their fetuses are especially vulnerable. Zika virus can spread from pregnant mother to her baby. Scientists have linked a serious brain birth defect in developing fetuses called Microcephaly to Zika virus. Babies born with Microcephaly have noticeably smaller heads than healthy babies; and consequently, suffer permanent brain damage. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends special precautions be made for pregnant women to protect them from exposure to the Zika virus.

Please Join Us!
Thank you for joining us this month as Worship in Action partners with Operation Blessing to combat the spread of Zika virus in Central and South America. Donations given to this Zika virus outreach will provide insect repellent, bed nets, fumigation, and mosquito larvae eating fish to impoverished communities where the items are most needed. Let’s put our worship into action this month by stopping the Zika virus, and powerfully impacting lives in the name of Jesus Christ.

To make a donation, please click here:

Studies reveal that children who grow up with neglect and lack of emotional and social interaction, have measurably different brain structures than kids who grow up in loving homes. Mental, emotional and spiritual development of children is stunted when they lack human touch. This is especially true of institutionalized orphans who spend their developmental years in inadequate and grossly understaffed facilities. Such children rarely feel the touch of other caring human beings; and this neglect permanently alters their lives. Orphans will rarely each their full potentials as children of God, unless they are in a loving environment and human touch.

In Africa, at Royal Seed Home (RSH), the environment is much different for children. African mommas carry their babies on their backs as they go about daily life. When mommas are not present to carry the babies, grandmothers and sisters assume that role.  When immediate family members are unable to care for the children, they go to orphanages, such as RSH.

RSH is a distinctly Christian orphanage, and it is also distinctly African. The children know they are loved, first by God, and secondly by their family. Family is 200+ brothers, sisters, caregivers and teachers who live, worship and attend school together. Babies and toddlers are wrapped onto the backs of office workers, cooks, grandmothers, older girls, and even on the backs of willing volunteers. They receive constant physical touch – an ancient African practice that builds communities, poor and rich alike. Volunteers who visit Royal Seed Home enjoy the experience of carrying a child. It serves as a reminder that life includes others; it never excludes nor forgets them, especially the children.

Worship In Action often receives requests for funds to pay the salaries of teachers and caregivers at Royal Seed Home. We do so happily because we know that without these people, Royal Seed Home would not continue to exist. We also know the children who live at RSH will have completely different childhoods from other orphans because there are many adults who love, teach, prepare hot meals, wash their clothes, and watch over them.  The children of Royal Seed Home need food, water and shelter to survive. We would argue they also need one additional component – human touch.

This month, donations given to Royal Seed Home will be directed to teachers and caregivers who daily touch the children we love from a distance. These women (and a few men) have dedicated their lives to serving others. Our donations empower them to continue the mission God has given them.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership. May our good God bless your generosity and provide for all your needs.

Sincerely,

Don Moen & WIA Team

The beginning of a new year is always a time when I think about what we have done in the previous year, and commit to the Lord our plans for the upcoming year. Of all we accomplished in 2015, I am most proud of Worship In Action and the impact it has made round the world. I love how we are able to regularly support an orphanage in Ghana called Royal Seed Home. When the earthquake shook the nation of Nepal, we sent resources to purchase emergency medial supplies. And at the close of the year, we responded to the Syrian/Iraqi refugee crisis by purchasing food and other needed supplies for those who have lost everything. I thank God for your partnership, and for the privilege of putting my worship in action in such practical and tangible ways.

Our partners made it possible this year to significantly increase our support of Royal Seed Home in Ghana. Together, we fed the kids; improved the RSH facility; bought new textbooks; provided health insurance for all the kids; paid medical bills of abandoned babies in need of emergency surgeries; and we sent older students to trade schools so they will be able to find jobs when social services requires them to leave the home. I believe our small role in the overall health and well-being of these children brings glory to God.

At the close of 2015, I returned to Ghana for a partner meeting (I will tell you more about that later), and visited the kids of Royal Seed Home. The trip was a highlight of my entire year. To see with my own eyes and be reminded of the reason we give to this worthy cause, gave me fresh fire for 2016. I am happy to tell you that for the first time ever, the kids had a proper Christmas Day celebration. Thanks to our good friends, Daniel and Veronica Mensah and many others, the children feasted, sang and danced, and celebrated Jesus’ birthday with a delicious cake. It was a truly wonderful end to an equally wonderful year!

For some time now, my team and I have discussed our desire to work more with local churches in communities around the world. We believe one of our purposes is to inspire others to put their worship in action through caring for the needs of others; and, what better way for that to happen than to inspire the church? Local churches are the ones who are able to be present; to touch others with the love to Christ; and to minister in real and tangible ways to those in their communities who are hurting.

After many months of preparation, I am happy to report that on December 6, 2015 we had our very first WIA (known in Ghana as Don Moen and Friends) partner meeting in Accra, where local Ghanaians committed to support Royal Seed Home on a more regular basis. Because of this event, we now have additional resources to support the ongoing needs of the home. We owe a great deal of thanks to our dear friends, Daniel and Veronica Mensah and Emmanuel & Catherine Adu Sarkodee, who made this successful event possible.

God is good, all the time. 2015 was an amazing year, and I believe 2016 is already shaping up to be even better. Thank you for joining us on this journey. We sincerely appreciate your partnership.

God bless,

Don Moen & WIA Team

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