An Exciting New Initiative from Focus on the Family

Dear Friends:

A Happy Thanksgiving to each one of you from Dr. and Mrs. Dobson and all of your friends here at Focus on the Family. As we prepare to gather with loved ones at the end of the month to express our gratitude for God's blessings, it's only fitting that I say a heartfelt "thank you" to those of you who have faithfully supported this ministry through your prayers and finances over the past year. Because of your involvement, the Lord has enabled us to impact lives on a global scale.

That is becoming particularly apparent as we finish up 2006 and look ahead to 2007. I'm pleased to report that Focus on the Family will soon be launching a major initiative designed to highlight and address the plight of orphans around the world. As an organization committed to defending the sanctity of human life, we believe this is a critical component of our mission. According to the United Nations, there are more than 143 million orphans currently struggling to survive in the world today. We often hear about the plight of orphaned children in Africa, where a child loses a parent to AIDS every 14 seconds. But this issue is not confined to the developing world. In the U.S. alone, there are 500,000 children currently in the foster care system, 120,000 of which are eligible for adoption. Clearly, this is an issue that the Christian community must actively address.

Your financial support has enabled us to take some exciting first steps toward meeting the need. For starters, our South African associate office recently established an organization called Focus on iThemba ("ithemba" means "hope" in the Zulu language) that combines life skills training (such as abstinence education) and cluster foster-care homes for broken families in that country. Already this outreach has made a significant difference in the lives of South African children — including three siblings who were left on their own after both parents died. When that happened, the eldest sister, Peaceful, became the head of her household and was forced to beg for food from their neighbors.

The Focus on iThemba team was able to come alongside these precious children and place them in a loving foster-care environment. In the coming years, the team at Focus on iThemba hopes to be able to expand its outreach to many more South African children whose lives have been devastated by the loss of their parents. For more information on this exciting initiative, log on to focusonithemba.org

In addition, Focus on the Family is partnering with two other Christian ministries — Dennis Rainey's Family Life Today and Steven Curtis Chapman's Shoahannah's Hope — to encourage churches and individual Christians to get actively involved in caring for the world's orphans. Our prayer is that this initiative, called Voice of the Orphan™, will not only equip God's people to help meet the physical needs of orphans worldwide, but will ultimately introduce them to the eternal hope that is found in Jesus Christ. Dr. Dobson will be highlighting this effort on the broadcast during the week of November 13, and you can find additional information at voiceoftheorphan.org

There are a number of other exciting projects in the offing here at Focus, as well, including our ongoing Option Ultrasound™ program for pregnancy care centers, the Your Child® program for 21st-century parents; and, as Del Tackett discussed in the September newsletter, Focus on the Family's The Truth Project® Christian worldview curriculum, which has already seen explosive growth and success.

We're incredibly enthusiastic about these and other endeavors. The impact the Lord has enabled us to make in the lives of families has been well worth the investment of resources. Nevertheless, it's no secret that a significant investment is required if we are to keep the ministry afloat in the months ahead. Dr. Dobson has noted on numerous occasions that the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's represents the most critical time of the year financially for Focus (and other nonprofit organizations).

I know this time of the year can be financially demanding for many families. Nevertheless, if you feel led to come alongside us in our efforts to highlight the plight of the world's orphans — as well as to nurture and defend families in a number of other ways — we would be most appreciative.

Thanks again for your ongoing partnership. Your commitment to this ministry means so much to us. May the Lord's richest blessings surround you and your loved ones this Christmas season!

Sincerely,

Jim Daly
President and CEO