Wow!! God Did It... Through YOU!

We are ecstatic.  This is really great…. we MADE OUR GOAL!  You gave $10,000 for Safe Families for Children of Madison County.  

We would like to extend a heart felt THANK YOU to our generous donor's who have stepped forward not only to making this a successful campaign, but to change lives right here in our own back yard.

Each of you are a part of something much bigger than just giving to a non-profit organization. You are empowering people to help other people and believing that God made us to do this work. You are allowing those who have stepped up to this mighty call to be the hands and feet of Jesus and serve families in crisis in our community.You are supporting the Church's ability to:

"Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.  Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."  
Psalm 82:3

You are keeping a Movement moving.

And for that, we say

God is doing great things in Madison County, through the hearts and hands of benevolent people, businesses and churches.
A special thanks goes out to the following people for their contribution to this effort:

Pam and Larry Nevins
Ryan Flegel
Annie Nichols & Family
Amanda Day & Family
Jennifer Overshiner & Family
Kristin and Eric Stayer
Hillary and Owen Nevins
Steve Voss
Luke and Jessee Nevins
Chris and Sara Richardson
Ryan Snider
Ken and Linda Johnson
Gregg Zion
Amanda Pippin & Family
Lisa DeLey
Bryan Williams
Angie Mollenkopf
Jeff and Kelly Seal
James W. Lewis
Megan Wolfe
Chad and Amy Lukens
Joe and Barbara Clark
Mary Harvey
Walter and Betty Copeland
Kyle Hupfer & Family
John Perkins/Flyover Enterprises
Jake & Arin Anderson & Family
Janice Stamper & Family
Jen Brawner/Kelly Crockett

and our anonymous donors
K.R.
K.B.
C.C.
P.F.
C.A.
A.W.
J.N.
S.G.
N&L D.

Matching Fund Donors:
Bryan Williams and Lisa DeLey
Howard, Dudley and DeLey
Angela Sims
Tom Hamer
Jimmy McDole
Scott and Jana Kemper
Bruce and Mary Ellen McDonald
Park Place Church of God
Pendleton Christian Church
Markleville North Christian Church

Also, thank you to Andria Pilkington for allowing us to use her video in our campaign, and for being willing to share her story with our audience.

Founder Dr. David Anderson calls Safe Families for Children, "a movement of hundreds of Christian families who have opened their homes to care for children whose parents are struggling.  By demonstrating biblical hospitality, Safe Families returns the church to the forefront of caring for "orphans and widows."' (James 1:27)

This "biblical hospitality" is alive and well in Madison County.  With almost 25 approved host families and close to 200 placements having been facilited, God is already moving in mighty ways. Here is just one example:

Ashley had 5 children and made a desperate phone call to our crisis line on a hot and sticky afternoon in July.  Ashley sat in our office with tears running down her cheeks, explaining how she had lost her job, her tax-return had been intercepted, and her utilities had been turned off for non-payment.  She asked if she could place her children with our host families until she could start her new job, earn some income and pay her utility bill.

We placed 3 out of the 5 children in our host homes and assisted Ashley with contacting resources for help with her utilities.  During our time with Ashley, she confessed "my children need the influence of a family.  We used to be a family before I had to leave my husband.  I never thought I would be alone in the world with 5 children, but I am."

Two host families, Chad and Tiffany Dzerve and Heather and Noel Lephart, took in 3 of the children while Ashley started her new job and waited to recieve her paycheck.  Heather and Noel were aware of Ashley's need for financial help with her utility bill.  Ashley's oldest daughter Arianna spotted a jar full of change in the Lephart's home one day and said, "Hey we could count the change and give it to my Mama!"  The Lephart's agreed to the plan and wrote a check to the utility company for over $100 to assist with the arrearage.

Chad and Tiffany blessed the two younger children, Clayton and Miranda, with their spacious country home.  The two children played well with their own two girls and there never seemed to be a dull moment in their home during the 5 week placement.  Clayton and Miranda were grateful to have Chad and Tiffany's home as a place to rest, take a breath, and be a kid.

After 5 weeks, Ashley had begun receiving paychecks, found assistance for her utility bill and was able to bring her children home just in time for school to start again.  Clayton told his safe family, "I'm definitly coming back to your house next summer!"

Just last week, Safe Families contacted Ashley about needs for her children for Christmas. Her response was, "Definitely... Thanks for all you do at Safe Families.  You all are angels."

God is working through Safe Families to change lives, and we can't thak you enough for your generous support of our organization.  If you'd like to learn more about hosting, getting your church involved or volunteering with Safe Families, please email ejohnson@safefamilies.net 

The Story of Safe Families in Madison County

Has your heart ever been torn to shreds after reading a tragic news story about a child who suffered because there weren’t enough people who cared?  Have you ever wished there was something you could do about it?

I’m going to tell you a story about how a tragic story broke our hearts in such a way that it would change our actions.

Quite a few years back, when my husband still had a desk job, he managed to pass the hours by keeping up on current news stories. My husband is a musician with a bit of a bleeding heart and many times he would come home and share a particularly difficult story that would cause us both to lower our eyes in despair because there was simply nothing to say. There was one article in particular about a boy named Robert whose story left a mark.

The story was tragic. Robert, 7, had been court mandated to have visitation with his mother, although his father had fought hard for full custody.  On one of his mandatory weekend visits, he was so severely beaten by his mother’s boyfriend that Robert died. My husband read about his kind disposition and how he was known to be a sweet child who always gave his teachers lots of hugs.  When I gazed at his 2nd grade picture, his innocent little face even reminded us of our own son.

This story broke my husband in a way I hadn’t seen before; it was the icing on the cake for him. We had struggled through quite a few other tragedies in our life, but for some reason this little boy did him in.  I could see the depression sink in as he struggled to reconcile the tragic reality of our world with his faith.

This little boy left a spot on our souls. His story left us with the feeling that living this life for the pursuit of the almighty dollar or even for just ourselves wasn’t enough.  Something in us changed.

A few years passed by.  During the summer of 2012 I offered to let my neighbor’s daughter come over to hang with us while her dad worked.  She liked our house so I let my neighbor know she was always welcome. Eventually the little girl started coming over with her cousin.  I could tell things weren’t very stable with the little girl’s cousin and she would say things like, “I think my house is a hotel…” I didn’t ask many questions, but let my neighbor know the girls were welcome anytime for as long as they needed to stay.

The girls would spend the night and stay whenever they needed.  My husband—remarkably—was ok with this. He was patient with these girls, loving and kind. We happened to be in the middle of a huge bathroom tear-out and the cousin became curious, following my husband around the house as he worked on completing our bathroom project.  I was blown away by his patience and willingness to allow her to help him.  He didn’t know what her life was like at home, why she was living in a hotel, or if she had a daddy or not.  But he showed kindness to the young strangers in our home that summer.

Little did we know that allowing a few neighbor girls to spend time with us was laying the foundation for something bigger to happen. We were being prepared for the moment when my neighbor's sister would call us because she was at the end of her rope and thought perhaps we could be of some help. We were being prepared for the moment God would call us to be a Safe Family so that we could provide a temporary home for the little girl (and her younger brother), who had been living in a hotel while their mother worked hard to get back on her feet. It was our opportunity to act, to do something about all those tragic news stories.

Right now, in Madison County, there are kids on the brink of abuse and neglect because their parents are in crisis.  Maybe they can't find work.  Maybe they were evicted.  Maybe there is no one they can depend on. 

Safe Families is unique in that the parent chooses to  place their children in the home of a “safe family.” Doing so gives the parent time to get back on their feet and in many cases deflects the need for the foster care system.  Safe Families is a movement of compassion that returns the church to the forefront of caring for the weak and the needy.  We are not funded through State, but through churches, grants and benevolent people. 

Consider how God may be promoting you to get involved--maybe you can volunteer your time as a host family, or maybe your talent as a professional, or maybe even your treasure.  Our family never would have guessed that two years later we would still be tightly bonded to the mother of the little girl we helped.  You can check out her story HERE.  You never know how your life might be changed when we choose to open our hearts, our homes and our resources to families that are in crisis.    

Emma Johnson
Safe Families for Children, Madison County
ejohnson@safefamilies.net
SFFC National: www.safe-families.org
SFFC Indiana: www.insafefamilies.org
SFFC Madison County Facebook