Summit Blog
Apr 30
Meet Jodi and Vanessa: Orphan Sunday Power
The Power of Orphan Sunday: How You Can Impact the World with Your Gifts
Meet … Jodi Jackson Turner, Breakout Co-Presenter, order cialis
/www.summit9.org/”>Summit VIII
Adoption has always been part of my family even since childhood. I have two siblings who were adopted as infants, and I saw in my buy viagra online parent’s love for them that all children have equal value in God’s eyes.
It was not until I was in my 40′s that God turned my attention to the global orphan crisis. Once this happened, He was relentless in breaking my heart for the orphan. Eventually, I quit my corporate job and at 45 dedicated the second half of my life to eradicating the orphan crisis.
The biggest hurdle I had to overcome was fear and disbelief that I could do this work. God kept telling me: “You already know everything you need to know”, but I had to step out in obedience.
Last year on Orphan Sunday, God spoke to me “No more orphans in my lifetime”. I am claiming that word.
I believe Orphan Sunday is God’s vehicle for turning the attention of the global church to the plight of the orphan. In rescuing the orphan, we discover the gospel. The orphan leads us to the heart of Jesus.
And meet … Vanessa Vasquez, Co-Presenter
As a child, one of my favorite memories was drinking cocoa and playing cards with my mom very early in the morning before everyone else in the family woke-up.
I first attended to the plight of the fatherless when, through a local school district, I worked specifically with one precious, severely handicapped girl when I was in my early twenties. She wasn’t “fatherless” but she was in great need. She changed me even before I knew the Lord.
The biggest obstacle to overcome was realizing, somewhere along the way, that I chose working in the field of the fatherless over having a family.
Why do I do it? To pursue a balance of justice and grace.
Who should attend this session? Anyone! We invite all who have the Lord impressing on their hearts His Love for the fatherless. We hope to inspire, equip, and commission people who feel called to serve the fatherless locally and/or globally through Orphan Sunday.
