2023 -> A New Beginning
2023 -> A New Beginning
January 31, 2023
by Scott Nordstrom
To be honest, I have struggled to get going in 2023. Our planning for this year began in October, but things did not materialize as envisioned through the 4th quarter. There is plenty of good that many of you accomplished as 1,000’s of orphan children around the world were blessed in 2022. In fact, we were able to serve more children than ever before -which has constantly been the case since 2019.
Orphan Outreach in Punjab, Pakistan
There is so much good that is transpiring in the field that I believe that it will be difficult to capsulize here. What the tribe of Global Orphan Relief achieved in 2022 is highlighted by the following:
·We were able to generate $369,383 to advance the cause of orphan children -record giving by more than $37,000!
We impacted an average of 4,743 children each month of the year.
We launched our fourth initiative, Church Mobilization, that provided impact to over 5,400 orphan children.
We deployed mission teams to Kenya & Zambia.
We hosted 180 guests at our 7th Annual Gala.
We held our 2nd Annual Feeding the 5k/5k run.
And the list goes on… but this month, we turn the page to the needs of children in 2023.
The plan adopted by our board of directors in December of 2022 simply overestimated resources that would be available at the start of the year. (My bad!)
(Below) Pastor Isaiah of GO! Kenya encouraging children at the Meru Care Center launch.
We have consistently outgrown our resources in each of the last two years, but this has been driven by the needs in the field and my willingness to put the needs of the children above all else. I did spend some time this month in prayer and looking for direction in terms of how we might adjust our outlook for the next twelve months. This has been a difficult exercise.
Though we have adjusted our field costs moving forward, we still look to increase what we spend around the world by 7%, or $21,197. This doesn’t sound like much; however, this is on top of a deficit of $32,350 for 2022. The last two years combined we have experienced a deficit of $52,088 that has been financed by our surplus in 2020. Needless to say, we no longer have much of a cash reserve to move forward in 2023.
Volunteers in Aweil, South Sudan, prepare food for children at school.
The good news is that this new level of investment will enable us to increase the number of children that we impact by 64%, or an average of an additional 3,015 orphaned children. This is a huge rate of return for these incremental costs as we care for children to advance the Kingdom!
After 17-years in ministry, it would seem that things would get easier. They have not. More faith is required, greater risks are taken, and more resources are required. Ministry costs money, especially when you aggressively grow to rescue so many lives that are in jeopardy.
We serve ‘the least of these’ in our three original initiatives: Home-Based Care, Education, and Nutrition. In December, we served 2,106 orphan children in these three initiatives.
In our fourth initiative (Church Mobilization) we impacted 5,093 orphan children in December. Since launching this new initiative, we have commissioned 638 GO! Ambassadors in Kenya in Zambia. At the conclusion of co-hosted Great Commandment Workshops, these individuals agreed to go out into their communities individually or deploy as a team with their church to serve orphan children. These Great Commandment Workshops are held in local communities to mobilize the church.
The GO! Ambassadors do not accomplish their work within the framework of our other three initiatives nor are there any parameters that we enforce. We do not financially support the care that they provide to children, nor do we financially support these individuals or churches for their efforts.
Through these workshops we encourage the body of Christ, share with attendees what God says regarding the poor among us, we give them practical examples of how others are serving in their communities, and then we “send them out.” We are encouraged by this small army of believers as they walk out in obedience to the scripture. We are honored that we can continue to encourage these brothers and sisters as they serve orphan children. As I scrolled through over 500 lines of data from December’s report, I thought I would share several responses with you:
Josphat shared, “We organized and visited Kanaani and Tumaini children's homes with beans, cooking oil, pampers, rice cabbages and watermelon.” -His group served 46 children last month.
Josiah reported, “I mobilized friends and visited a children home of 38 children. We provided different kind of food stuffs, clothes, and mentorship.
Edward’s effort was noted as, “I provide food, clothes, accommodation and other basic needs.” Edward blessed three children last month.
Agness reported, “I always do shopping for 3 orphans every month and provide things like food stuffs and soap.”
Timothy shared, “I supported 10 children individually with food items, clothes and shoes.”
Ironically Donald reported, “I only managed to support 1 orphan with clothes and food.” Well done, Donald!
Elijah shared, “I'm staying with 1 child. He has been sick and went through a heart operation. I paid all the bills.”
I find this so compelling. People demonstrating the love of Jesus with sacrificial support provided to children. These GO! Ambassadors inspire me as they cause me to consider how we can do more!
Furthermore, this is what is described as the body of Christ in the scriptures. Each of us doing our part, deploying our gifts in the Kingdom to demonstrate the love of Jesus.
I share this knowing that 2023 is going to be difficult. Please know that I am not being negative, but I understand that we are setting out to do something that will not be easy. It is not a given that we will impact over 10,000 orphan children this year, but it is in our plan. There will be set-backs as we have already experienced. The only thing that this adventure is missing is some of you.
Join us won’t you? You will glad that you did!
Global Orphan Relief (GO) has been serving orphaned children since 2005. We have accomplished this work to date through local partners in each country that provides oversight and distribution of care. As of December 2022, we impacted 7,199 children in Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan, South Sudan, and Zambia within our Home-based Care, Nutrition, Scholarship, & Church Mobilization Initiatives.
Scott Nordstrom leads GO! today and has done so since we launched in 2005. Scott has served with GO! for 17-years. Scott has been instrumental in deploying 166 volunteers on 27 teams to the mission field, and has personally served in DR Congo, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, South Sudan, and Zambia. Scott is a published author and speaks in the United States, as well as, internationally regarding child welfare and matters of faith, hope, and love.
You may send support or other correspondence to Global Orphan Relief, 16352 Prairie Farm Circle, Parker, CO 80134 or you may give on this website at the upper righthand corner under ‘Donate’.
Movement of FAITH | Voice of HOPE | Act of LOVE
Global Orphan Relief (GO!) is a Christian relief agency serving vulnerable children and is a recognized U.S. public charity, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3). All donations to GO!, or any charitable contribution processed through Network For Good Donor Advised Fund, are tax deductible to the extent of the law. If you prefer, you may provide gifts of support by sending via mail to the address above.