Eli Project is a Christian Ministry intended to care for the orphans however God calls them! It is a wonderful ministry which I am glad to support!! It's a separate ministry from RR though the two ministries are on friendly terms :). If you haven't visited their website yet, click on any of the times I've said Eli Project and go check them out!
And now, I couldn't say it better than him, so here it is in Chris' words :) Thanks for sharing your heart and ministry with us Chris!
In 2005, my wife gave birth to our 5th child. As soon as he was born, it was apparent that he was different than our other children. He wasn't unhealthy, just different. By the end of that March day, we were told that he had Down syndrome. Our lives took a sudden turn that we have never anticipated. We were surprised at this diagnosis. We grieved the loss of what "would have been" for Eli. Yet, we were filled joy that could only come from our Heavenly Father.
During that time, we were also doing mission work in Ukraine...training church leadership, holding youth and children's camps and sharing the Gospel in every way possible. Eventually, we began visiting orphan homes and providing basic supplies to them (diapers, toys, clothes, etc) and holding and playing with the children there. One of the homes we visited was full of children like my Eli. I found out that these children, who were the same as my sweet boy, would live in these baby homes until they were 4 or 5 and then be transferred to a mental institution with other children and adults and would live out the rest of their short life unwanted, neglected and in misery. My heart was broken and when I told Mary, her's was broken too.
God put it in our hearts then that we were to help these children. A few months later, when I was back in Ukraine, I became aware of the plight of older orphans in Ukraine and the desperate situation that they face when they age out of the "system" when they turn 16. My heart was broken all over again when I thought about my own older children who were approaching that age and what their lives would be like had they been born into the situation that these orphans found themselves.
Fast forward a couple of years and Eli Project was born. We are not an adoption agency. We are a ministry that helps connect families with children who are in desperate need of love and nurture. We help families get paperwork together, raise money, get to Ukraine and connect them with people to help them through the very difficult process once they get there.
God has been at work in our community and our country and has awakened many to the tremendous need these children have. Eli Project's goal is make it possible for these "awakened" families bring these beautiful children into their families.
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