Summit Blog

Meet Sarah Hock: Love.

Meet … Sarah Hock, Breakout Presenter, Summit VIII

Pop Cultur

e and Orphans

Why? Love. We serve orphans because of God’s great love for us.

My favorite childhood memories are from the time I spent growing up on Maui as a child. I have many wonderful memories of times shared with my younger brother growing up in what was then a tiny island community. My parents owned a small mom-and-pop clothing store and one of my favorite memories is of the time when my brother and I put plastic bags on our feet and spent hours sliding around “ice skating” on the carpet of my parents’ store.

I first became aware of the orphan crisis as result of a friendship with a family at our church who was in the process of adopting a little girl from Uganda. My husband and I were inspired by their vision to serve children in need and as a result we decided to begin researching adoption as a possible first choice for beginning a family. Through our experience with adopting our two daughters, our lives were forever changed by becoming so personally connected to the needs of orphans.

In choosing to care for orphans through adoption, our biggest concerns initially related to how our decision would be received by friends and family. Thankfully, our family was incredibly supportive and our friends have embraced our children whole-heartedly.

In choosing to continue to care for orphans after our own adoption by starting a local orphan care and adoption support ministry, the biggest hurdles we have faced are related to finding the time to manage family, jobs and our ministry. We continue to do what we do, even when it requires late nights, because we believe that God is passionate about the plight of these precious kids and has called us to action. In our ministry, we like we to say that we will work “until there are no more orphans”.

My breakout session is for anyone who is interested in learning more about how to speak the truth in love as they respond to the depictions of orphans/foster children that are offered through today’s mass media. The session will examine how pop culture is shaping the view of orphans and foster children held by many in our society. We will look at common themes offered through media sources such as television and film and examine the truth of some of these depictions. In addition, we will discuss ways that popular media buy cialis can be used as a vehicle to dialogue with others about the orphan crisis. We will also touch on how positive media examples can serve as a platform for discussing adoption in the context of an adoptive family and beyond.