New & Improved Focused Fellowship!

Monday, September 20, 2010 at Monica Lonergan's home at 7pm
Address: 1111 W. Burnside Dr., Peoria


Ladies, no matter where you are in the area of fostering and/or adopting Focused Fellowship could be for you! We have made some changes to what we have tried in the past and are excited about the prospect of encouraging one another.

Format: We plan to have a special woman share a short testimony each month about, "What God is teaching me through the experience of fostering/adopting." We will have a short time of sharing and finish with a time of prayer for each other. We'll top it off with a sweet dessert!

Place: Open Hearts, Open Homes is a ministry of the Bethany Fellowship of Churches so we plan to rotate our meeting place between east and west of the river, (2-3 homes). This lessens the burden of the drive for each person. Our plan is to have a schedule for the next few months at our first meeting.

Any questions feel free to email:

Amy Park @ levisix@verizon.net or Monica Lonergan @ jonmon95@rocketmail.com

Christian Adoptive Families Picnic

Christian Adoptive Families is a group of adoptive families from Central Illinois. They meet approximately two times a year for fellowship, food, and encouragement.

There will be a picnic on Sunday, July 18 at 4:00pm. This picnic will take place at Idlewood Park in Morton. They will meet at the shelter off E. Greenwood St. (This park is right next to the new Morton pool.)


We will begin with supper, followed by a short time of sharing and testimony, playground time for the kids, and finally one hour of swimming at the brand new Morton Pool beginning at 7:00 pm.

For our testimony, Nicole Heid, birth mother of the host family's adopted child Analea, has agreed to share about her experiences from the "other side" of the foster care system. As a mother who had two children placed in the foster care system, eventually regaining custody of one and giving up rights to the other, it should provide a really powerful insight into some of the feelings and struggles that birth parents experience when their children are taken.


Dinner: Grilled Chicken!! For those who were at the last get-together, Nathan Eichorn who gave his testimony, has offered to come from Indiana and grill chicken! Each family should bring a covered dish and dessert to add to it. Paper products and drink will be provided.


Cost: A donation will be taken to help cover the cost of the chicken, paper products, and for renting the pool for an hour.


To help us figure how much chicken to buy, we would really appreciate getting a good count, so please RSVP if you plan on attending to: pcw@omnilec.com

Welcome Home!

Welcome to your new home Benjamin!

Congratulations to Gregg, Kris, Ashley, Lindsay, Tara, and Jaime!

We'll be praying for all of you as you become the family the Lord wants you to be.

The McClellands are coming home!

Gregg and Kris are bringing Benjamin home this Wednesday, June 23!

Please be in prayer for them as they travel for many hours with a toddler.

They would love for you to meet them at the airport. If you are not on the OHOH email list please leave a comment here and we will get you their flight information.

We will also attempt to keep you up-to-date with any delays, though we are praying there will be none.

Dates to Set Aside!

Here are some dates you will want to put on your calendar!

****This Saturday, June 12 from 5-7 pm. Open Hearts, Open Homes Social. Potluck - bring a dish from your country of interest or a favorite of your family. See post below for details.

****Christian Adoptive Families Picnic - this is a group of adoptive families from Central Illinois Sunday, July 18 at 4:00 pm at Idlewood Park in Morton. More details will be coming - stay tuned!

**** Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit VII - Louisville, KY - May 12-13, 2011

Open Hearts, Open Homes Orphan Ministry
invites your family to join us for a potluck!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

(please note the date change if you received an earlier email)

At: Bethany Baptist Church, 7422 N. Heinz Lane, Edwards
(driving directions available @ bethanycentral.org)

Time: 5-7pm

Please bring: a dish to share that correlates to the country you have an interest in or your favorite dish.

We will provide: Cake to celebrate with the families that have brought children into their homes over the past year!, drinks, and table service.

Please RSVP (or if you have any questions?) to:
Ken and Amy : levisix@verizon.net

New Garage Sale for 2 Adopting Families

The Streitmatter and Dietz Families

are having a Garage Sale to assist them with their adoptions costs.

Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15

Time: 8-2pm

Place: 316 North Creek Court, Princeville (Saturday is the Town Wide Sale)

Lost of clothes - boys, girls, baby, men, women, and maternity. Some other items available include: infant swing, train table, exersaucer, bouncey seat, furniture, and household items.

The Streitmatters are adopting a little girl from Ethiopia and the Dietz family from Korea.