Ethiopia

Note: This request originally came in June of 2023 and was fulfilled in July 2023; however, a story was not published at the time. This story is a "catch-up" and photos and a final update will follow shortly. Hope For the Fatherless (HFTF) is on a mission in Ethiopia. Believing that children belong in families, not institutions, Hope for the Fatherless rescues orphaned and vulnerable children and places them into loving homes through reunification, kinship placement, domestic adoption, and small group homes. Currently HFTF has 30 children in its small group homes, 18 children in the sponsorship program (receiving educational, medical, and other support with their single moms so they do not become orphans), and dozens of children in the adoption program who are in the process of being placed with their forever families. The Dragovich family (Darren, former Soccer Chaplains United Board Member) has been heavily invested into Hope For the Fatherless. Two of the Dragovich daughters, Reese and Sydney, both served as interns for the ministry in the US during high school and have traveled to Ethiopia multiple times. With a long relationship with HFTF kids and staff when the opportunity arose to spend five weeks there this past summer, both girls jumped at the chance. Reese has been helping HFTF to develop a social media plan and gather film and photo material to use in the ministry, while Sydney (who will be studying Social Work in college) has worked with HFTF social workers in the adoption program. Last year (2022), during Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church’s trip to Ethiopia, Soccer Chaplains United gifted HFTF with an assortment of soccer jerseys. The kids were so excited to put them on—even the little 5 year old whose shirt came down to his ankles! The kids felt special, blessed, and loved. This year, when Reese and Sydney arrived for their internships, the teenage boys at Faith House were excited to share that they have officially formed a HFTF soccer team that competes in games around the city! There are ten teenage boys on the team (who all live at Faith House) and three younger boys (from Hope House) who help out. Specifically, HFTF has requested the following: 13 uniform sets Remember, when you support Soccer Chaplains United, a portion of your gift automatically goes to help our community projects and requests. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor individuals or organizations, and cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

Partner church Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church made their way to Ethiopia this past summer. The team made a request for soccer gear from Soccer Chaplains United's Community Project program. You can see what they received here. Recently, the team sent us a final update on how the trip went. We share it below. Final Update We returned to Ethiopia for our first mission trip since Covid to serve with Hope for the Fatherless (HFTF). HFTF is an orphan ministry in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that works to rescue children from institutional care, place them in forever families, and develop a culture of domestic adoption in Ethiopia.  Hope for the Fatherless currently cares for 28 children in its small, family-style homes, sponsors a number of other vulnerable children in single-parent homes who risk becoming orphaned themselves, and trains and equips adoptive families because children belong in families, not institutions. Through the generosity of Soccer Chaplains United, we were able to gift each of HFTF’s homes (Hope House, Faith House, and Grace House) with their own indestructible soccer ball and jerseys for all the kids.  Soccer is definitely a favorite pastime for the children, and our team enjoyed playing many soccer games with them in the courtyard at Hope House.  When we brought out the soccer balls from SCU, the kids immediately started a game. And later in the week, when we gifted the jerseys to them, they were over the moon! Each kiddo immediately put on their jersey as soon as they got theirs—it was incredible to watch the joy that overcame them, simply because they got their own jersey.  This was such a highlight of the trip! Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church was very excited to partner with SCU once again to help bring so much happiness and fun to these incredible kids in Ethiopia. One of the boys has told us for five years now that he intends to be a professional soccer player when he is older. He received some goalie equipment from SCU and wanted to pass along a big THANK YOU!!  It is a joy to see how something as simple as a shirt or ball, which we often take for granted in America, can be such a gift of love and bring so much excitement to orphaned and vulnerable kids halfway around the world. Thank you, Soccer Chaplains United and Colorado Rapids! Your generosity not only impacted the kids, but the team as well. In seeing the joy the kids had, we couldn’t help but be joyful as well. We experienced the beautiful community that comes from generosity as we celebrated alongside our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia. Thank you SCU and Colorado Rapids for your generosity and support! When you financially support Soccer Chaplains United a portion of your gift automatically goes to help our community projects and requests. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community Project from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor individuals projects and organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

Late last week, two teams from partner church Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church made their way to Ethiopia and Uganda. Both teams made requests for soccer gear from Soccer Chaplains United's Community Project request program. You can follow the teams progress and blog updates below. Ethiopia This family trip runs from July 9—24. Serving alongside Hope for the Fatherless, an orphan ministry in the capital city of Addis Ababa that seeks to meet the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children and place them in loving families through domestic adoption and reunification, as well as develop a culture of adoption and orphan care in Ethiopia and around the world. Project Fulfillment: 3 One-World Play balls35 jerseys4 jackets3 goalkeeper sets (gloves, shorts, jersey, socks)32 pounds total Check out how the CCPC Ethiopia team is doing! Uganda Student ministry trip runs from July 10-26. The team serves once again with Uganda Youth for Christ, who have been CCPC partners in the gospel since the church's first visit in 2007. This team of Ugandan young people is on the ground every day, serving Christ, sharing the gospel in schools, caring for and equipping teen moms, and being lights in very dark places. Project fulfillment: 1 One-World Play ball24 jerseys60 t-shirts22 warm-up tops50 lbs. total Check out how the CCPC Uganda team is doing! When you financially support Soccer Chaplains United a portion of your gift automatically goes to help our community projects and requests. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community Project from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor individuals projects and organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

It has been a few years since members of Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church were able to go and serve in Ethiopia. This year, a team of 14 will traveling to help Hope for the Fatherless (HFTF). HFTF is a ministry that helps orphaned and vulnerable children. The ministry, led by Belay T. Gebru, focuses on building and finding Christ-centered homes for children in Ethiopia. The CCPC team is going for a couple weeks to provide respite and relief for the HFTF workers. The team, comprised of a couple of families and other church members, will run a Vacation Bible School (VBS) program for the children, giving the staff a few days off to take a rest. In addition to the VBS, the team will also bring some critical supplies and work through STEM and English curriculum. Our goal is to build relationships with the staff and kids, and provide rest and the supplies that Hope For The Fatherless needs.Alysa Waits, 2022 CCPC Team Member, on the goals for this year's trip HFTF is an orphan ministry in Ethiopia's capital city of Addis Ababa. The ministry works to meet the needs of orphans and vulnerable children by placing them in loving families through domestic adoption and reunification. In addition, they are looking to develop a culture of adoption and orphan care in Ethiopia and around the world. In addition to the VBS and STEM and English curriculum, the CCPC team will be learning more about orphaned and vulnerable children and how to best advocate and care for them. For team member, Alysa Waits, this is a critical part of the trip for her. She shared, I am going on this trip because I want to be a part of what HFTF is doing, and support in any way I can. I am hoping to gain a new perspective on missions and life as a missionary. A big part of missions for me is building relationships that are long-term. I am hoping to gain connections internationally, and build lasting relationships with the kids and HFTF staff.Alysa Waits Project Request The CCPC Team is requesting 3 indestructible (One World Play) soccer balls and Rapids jerseys or shirts for about 40 children. If you would like to make a specific donation of one of the items above check out our SmileAmazon charity list here. Or you can make a financial donation via PushPay and our Community Project Fund. When you financially support Soccer Chaplains United a portion of your gift automatically goes to help our community projects and requests. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community Project from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor individuals projects and organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

The youth group at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, one of Soccer Chaplains United's partner churches, will be taking a trip to Kampala, Uganda and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July. A team of 19 students and leaders, passionate about serving the Lord and others, will leave for a couple of weeks to travel to Ethiopia and Uganda and work with different groups and organizations in each country. Our team is excited about this opportunity to participate in how God is working across the world. We are going on this trip to love, bless, and encourage people in Uganda and Ethiopia.Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church Trip Participant For the first part of the trip, the team from Cherry Creek will be running a VBS for Hope for the Fatherless. Hope for the Fatherless is an organization that seeks to cultivate a culture of adoption in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a major orphan crisis that has been worsened by the fact that they do not currently allow international adoptions. The second part of the trip, will feature time in Kampala, Uganda to serve alongside Youth for Christ Uganda. While there, the team will join in school outreaches and sports ministry. School outreaches will include skits, dancing, and different team members sharing their testimonies. Part of the ministry work within the community will include playing soccer with the children, and we want to hand out soccer equipment during those games. This trip will be part of the church’s continued partnership that began in 2007. We will also have the opportunity to put doors and windows on the Mirembe house, a home for single, pregnant teens. While we are there, we hope to bless and encourage the people we come in contact with...our desire is that God would show the people of Uganda and Ethiopia His incredible love through us and that His love would leave a lasting impact on the people we interact with. Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church Trip Participant Specific to the request from Soccer Chaplains United, the team is looking to take about 100 pounds of soccer gear and equipment on their trip: soccer balls, jerseys, and cleats. When you support Soccer Chaplains United a portion of your gift automatically goes to help our community projects and requests. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor individuals or organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

Soccer Chaplains United believes that out of our abundance, we are to give graciously and abundantly.  This year has provided Soccer Chaplains United with numerous opportunities to send soccer gear across the world.  This story highlights a family's trip from Castle Rock, CO to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and how a few soccer balls impact the corner of their world. Sydney Dragovich, 13, writes about her recent trip to Africa.  In August, my sister, mom, and I traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for ten days to visit the children of Hope for the Fatherless (HFTF).  HFTF partners with Believers in Ethiopia and around the world to develop a culture that values and cares for vulnerable children and places them in loving families.   Hope for the Fatherless believes that children deserve to grow up in a home with a family.  Until the children of HFTF are adopted into forever families, they live together in a family setting.  There are currently two homes that each have ten children, Hope House and Faith House.  The children attend great schools, receive medical care and excellent nutrition, and now have people in their lives who know and love them.  It is a much better situation than the orphanages they came from - after a year at Hope House, the children are healing and growing physically, mentally, and spiritually.   HFTF also sponsors another ten kids who still live with their moms but are in at-risk situations.  Through HFTF support, these children hopefully can stay in their homes and not have their families disrupted.During our time in Ethiopia, we mostly hung out with the kids and got to know them.  We ate together, worshipped together, and played together.  Some of the kids speak a little English and loved to practice with us, but most speak Amharic.  With that language barrier, playing together was our best form of communication.  We played board games, jump rope, and lots of soccer! Ethiopian children and adults love soccer!  The main place for the kids to play soccer is in the street.  The street in front of Hope House is a beautiful cobblestone, but it was not very friendly on the traditional soccer balls they had, which were all pretty beat up!  When we gave the kids the One World Futbols donated by Soccer Chaplains United, everyone was very excited and immediately wanted to play with them.  They love the One World Futbols because, unlike their old ball, it won't go flat, pop, or fall apart.  It is indestructible!  Thank you, Soccer Chaplains United, for providing Hope for the Fatherless with these amazing gifts! Remember, when you support Soccer Chaplains United a portion of your gift automatically goes to help projects and requests like this one for Ethiopia. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor an individual or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world! ###

Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, a Soccer Chaplains United church partner, is sending a team (including Senior Pastor Brad Strait, his wife, Soccer Chaplains United board member Darren Dragovich's family, and Children's Ministry staffer Lea Wright) to visit Hope for the Fatherless, a Christian ministry that serves orphaned and vulnerable children in Ethiopia. Hope for the Fatherless strives to create a culture of adoption and orphan care worldwide by working in and through local communities. The team from Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church will be ministering to the children who are part of HFTF's group homes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. There are ten children in each home. In addition, the team will also visit one of the children who are sponsored by the Dragovich Family through Compassion International. Bontu lives about an hour outside of the capital and attends a Compassion project site that serves over 200 kids. These children are from difficult and impoverished situations. The Cherry Creek Team is bringing gifts including school and crafting supplies and jump ropes to the Compassion site. They are also requesting some One World Play Soccer Balls to provide HFTF and Compassion opportunities to continue their work with these children. The team is looking forward to using soccer to provide a chance to easily cross language and cultural barriers and engage in a fun, loving, and meaningful ways with the children from both organizations. Specific Request: 7 soccer balls 18 youth jerseys To support this specific request for Hope for the Fatherless, or future ventures like this, please donate through PushPay — simply select "Timothy Project" from the selectable funds to contribute to.  Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor an individual or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world! ###

Last week we shared about CrossTraining's gift to His Little Feet international choir when they were on tour this past summer. Now, in the Timothy Project: His Little Feet 2016 - Part 2 we share the rest of the story. Driving away after giving brand new jerseys to the boys int eh choir, CrossTraining's Executive Director, Rev. Brad Kenney, had his two older girls ask, "Dad, what about the girls?" The international choir featured 10 boys and nearly as many girls - all from different walks and backgrounds. "Well, I asked their tour director about it and he didn't think that the girls would want soccer jerseys." "But dad, they looked like they would have liked to receive something, too."  was the earnest plea from Rev. Kenney's 12 and 11 year-old girls. "I know girls, I saw it, too. I tell you what, I will try to call him back and see if we can do something." The phone call was made. "Hi, Mike? Hello, it's Brad, again. Mike, my girls really want to do something for the girls, too." With the choir about to perform, arrangements were made to revisit the choir and this time to give something to the girls. Rev. Kenney shared how the rest of the evening went, When I called Mike back, I told him that we had women's jerseys, too, and that we wanted to make sure that the girls felt just as loved. As I was driving back, I was reflecting on how often in our world our default or bias excludes women and girls in certain things. I think having four daughters has made me think differently about that. When Rev. Kenney returned, this time he brought all four of his daughters to deliver the women's jerseys. It was a precious time as my girls got to hand out the women's jerseys which had a totally different look and feel. These girls could feel valued just as much as the boys. In fact, Mike shared with me that some of the boys had been flaunting their new jerseys and had upset some of the girls, so when the girls received their own jersey they were beaming and had huge smiles.