Our vision and mission
As the vision for Happy Life was
being formed in the spring of 2001, rescuing abandoned babies and
working to have them adopted by a loving Christian family was 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 happenings 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 Christian families to adopt the abandoned babies.
ADOPTION, A NEW OPTION FOR KENYANS
When my wife
and I first visited Kenya in the summer of 2001 we 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 us 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 in the past adoption was often considered as 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 babies becoming not only part of a human family but also becoming part of the local church and the family of God.
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 Scriptures.
Adoption is a concept that 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 in that Adam and Eve were part of God’s family, his son and daughter. Unfortunately, as a result of Satan bringing sin into the Garden and with Adam and Eve sinning against their Heavenly Father, they were physically removed from the Garden and spiritually cast out of God’s family and into the family of Satan.
Our God is a God of mercy and Grace! Almost immediately in the Garden of Eden he began the process of providing for the covering over (symbolic sacrificing of an animal to provide cover for their physical nakedness) of the sins of man. 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 but not fatal blow with the cross yet Christ
would
bring a fatal crushing blow to Satan in his resurrection from the dead and
ascension into heaven.
All of Scripture is God’s plan through Christ to bring his people back into his family by giving them faith in his Son. A striking picture of God’s mercy and grace being freely given to the sinful human race can be vividly seen in Ezekiel chapter 16.
“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
A strikingly vivid picture of sinful humanity being 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. Thanks be to Christ that 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
gory.”
Romans
8:14-17
Taking an abandoned child and claiming him or her as your very own; having the same rights and responsibilities as any of the biological children you may have. Full standing as a son or daughter in your family. Taking a child who has no hope and giving to her the joy of being a part of your family and hopefully a part of the family of God.
We who have faith in our elder brother, Jesus Christ, have been rescued from Satan’s family and adopted into God’s family with all of the eternal promises given to the heirs of God.
Praise God that we have been adopted!
Adoption is a beautiful option!
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.