Adoptions
Click on a child's name to read his/her story
The Option of Adoption
Our Vision and Mission
As the vision for Happy Life Children’s Home was being formed in the spring of 2001, rescuing abandoned babies and working to have them adopted by a loving family was already at the heart of our mission. We believe that God’s original plan for the humans He created was to live together in families. Sadly, many terrible and tragic events and circumstances have created, in Kenya and most of Africa, a climate where the abandonment of newborn babies is quite common and increasing in number.
In times past, children who lost their parents were taken in by the extended family or tribal community. Since this is increasingly no longer the case, the Church is being called to proclaim the message of adoption and to promote adoption among its members and friends. It is the desire of Happy Life Children’s Home to work closely with the local churches in Kenya and around the world to both encourage and facilitate the adoption of these abandoned babies by loving, caring families.
Adoption: A New Option for Kenyans
When US Director Jim Powell and his wife, Sharon, first visited Kenya in the summer of 2001, they were made aware that the concept of adoption was not an option for most Kenyans, not even for the Kenyan Church. Several pastors shared with them that, in the recent past, abandoned babies and children were simply taken in by the extended family that was often made up of many family members. Also, adoption was often considered a method of getting a child into the family for the purpose of having the adopted child become more of a servant than a full son or daughter.
It is the goal of Happy Life to proclaim the message of adoption through the ministries of the local churches. We envision the adopted children becoming not only part of a human family, but also becoming part of the local church and the family of God.
God’s Awesome Plan of Adoption
The concept of adoption did not originate in the hearts and minds of humans. It began in eternity past and can be seen beautifully portrayed in the pages of Scripture.
The idea of adoption implies the need to be moved from one family to another. In God’s initial plan for his creation, there was no need for adoption because Adam and Eve were part of God’s family, his son and daughter. Unfortunately, as a result Adam and Eve giving into the temptation of Satan in the Garden of Eden, they were physically removed from that place and spiritually cast out of God’s family into the family of Satan.
Our God is a God of mercy and grace. He provided for Adam and Eve (and their descendants as inheritors of a sinful nature) the process for the covering over of the sins of man (symbolic sacrificing of an animal to provide cover for their physical nakedness). God saw the tragedy of how sin had brought to man eternal destruction and alienation from Himself and He revealed His plan of adoption, ironically, to Satan:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heal.”
-Genesis 3:15
“On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloth. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”
-Ezekiel 16:4-6
This is a vivid image of sinful humanity living in Satan’s family, yet abandoned by him and left to die. It is God who takes the initiative to rescue sinful humanity from the grips of death and abandonment. Because of Christ, we have become sons and daughters of our God! We have been given garments of salvation, robes of righteousness, and crowns for our head! We have been adopted!
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"
-I John 3:1
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
-Galatians 3:26, 27
“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit who calls out. ‘Abba Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."
-Galatians 4:4-7
“..because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship (adoption). And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we re God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
-Romans 8:14-17
Adopting From God’s Perspective
To adopt as we have been adopted means this:
Praise God that we have been adopted!
Adoption is a beautiful option!
How You Can Help
Our Vision and Mission
As the vision for Happy Life Children’s Home was being formed in the spring of 2001, rescuing abandoned babies and working to have them adopted by a loving family was already at the heart of our mission. We believe that God’s original plan for the humans He created was to live together in families. Sadly, many terrible and tragic events and circumstances have created, in Kenya and most of Africa, a climate where the abandonment of newborn babies is quite common and increasing in number.
In times past, children who lost their parents were taken in by the extended family or tribal community. Since this is increasingly no longer the case, the Church is being called to proclaim the message of adoption and to promote adoption among its members and friends. It is the desire of Happy Life Children’s Home to work closely with the local churches in Kenya and around the world to both encourage and facilitate the adoption of these abandoned babies by loving, caring families.
Adoption: A New Option for Kenyans
When US Director Jim Powell and his wife, Sharon, first visited Kenya in the summer of 2001, they were made aware that the concept of adoption was not an option for most Kenyans, not even for the Kenyan Church. Several pastors shared with them that, in the recent past, abandoned babies and children were simply taken in by the extended family that was often made up of many family members. Also, adoption was often considered a method of getting a child into the family for the purpose of having the adopted child become more of a servant than a full son or daughter.
It is the goal of Happy Life to proclaim the message of adoption through the ministries of the local churches. We envision the adopted children becoming not only part of a human family, but also becoming part of the local church and the family of God.
God’s Awesome Plan of Adoption
The concept of adoption did not originate in the hearts and minds of humans. It began in eternity past and can be seen beautifully portrayed in the pages of Scripture.
The idea of adoption implies the need to be moved from one family to another. In God’s initial plan for his creation, there was no need for adoption because Adam and Eve were part of God’s family, his son and daughter. Unfortunately, as a result Adam and Eve giving into the temptation of Satan in the Garden of Eden, they were physically removed from that place and spiritually cast out of God’s family into the family of Satan.
Our God is a God of mercy and grace. He provided for Adam and Eve (and their descendants as inheritors of a sinful nature) the process for the covering over of the sins of man (symbolic sacrificing of an animal to provide cover for their physical nakedness). God saw the tragedy of how sin had brought to man eternal destruction and alienation from Himself and He revealed His plan of adoption, ironically, to Satan:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heal.”
-Genesis 3:15
- Eternal hatred would exist between the family of God and the family of Satan.
- This hatred would come to a climax in Satan’s battle with Christ who would come from the offspring of Eve.
- Satan would strike a terrible blow with the cross, yet Christ would return a more powerful and fatally-crushing blow to Satan in His resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven.
“On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloth. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”
-Ezekiel 16:4-6
This is a vivid image of sinful humanity living in Satan’s family, yet abandoned by him and left to die. It is God who takes the initiative to rescue sinful humanity from the grips of death and abandonment. Because of Christ, we have become sons and daughters of our God! We have been given garments of salvation, robes of righteousness, and crowns for our head! We have been adopted!
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"
-I John 3:1
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
-Galatians 3:26, 27
“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit who calls out. ‘Abba Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."
-Galatians 4:4-7
“..because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship (adoption). And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we re God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
-Romans 8:14-17
Adopting From God’s Perspective
To adopt as we have been adopted means this:
- Taking an abandoned child and claiming him or her as your very own
- Giving that child same rights and responsibilities as any of the biological children you may have.
- Assuring his or her full standing as a son or daughter in your family.
- Taking a child who has no hope and giving to him or her the joy of being a part of your loving family and growing in relationship with God.
Praise God that we have been adopted!
Adoption is a beautiful option!
How You Can Help
- Adopt a child from Happy Life Children’s Home. Contact Jim Powell at revpowell@juno.com or 302.229.2098.
- Support a family in Kenya who has been approved by the government to adopt from HLCH. A committee at Happy Life Children’s Home works alongside qualified families to determine the individual family’s ability to pay for the adoption. You could become a donor to supply the funds to complete the adoption.
- Pray that God will work in the hearts of people around the world to consider adopting a child from Happy Life Children’s Home!
And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:16
Mark 10:16
Happy Life Children’s Home is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To donate online, please contact Jim Powell 302-229-2098