Thursday, July 31, 2008

BIG NEWS!

Wow! We are so overwhelmed with emotion right now!

Michelle Reed, a fellow Kaz mom and board member, nominated Two Hearts for the Angels in Adoption Award handed out by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI). Each year, Members of Congress are given the opportunity to select individuals, families or organizations from their home state, who have demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of children in need of permanent, loving homes.

Each Congressperson chooses one individual or organization to honor. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri has chosen to honor US because of our dedication to adoption and positive child welfare practices.

We will be traveling to Washington DC in September to received our award on the White House lawn and to attend the tenth annual Angels in Adoption gala. This event boasts more Congressional participation than any child welfare event in the nation, with 193 members of Congress participating and more than 850 guests in attendance at the gala last year.

Along with the 2008 Angels in Adoption selected from all fifty states and the District of Columbia, National Angels in Adoption™ are awarded for their dedication to orphans and foster children on a broader, national scale. Some of the previous National Angels have included First Lady Laura Bush, Victoria Rowell, Muhammad Ali, Dave Thomas, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Bruce Willis.

Can you believe it? We are just blown away by this! Who would have thought in January when we started that we would be NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED just a few months later!

Thank you to Michelle for nominating us! Thank you to Senator McCaskill for honoring us with this wonderful award. Thank you for all your donations to make this possible! It is a great privilege to be helping the children in Kazakhstan.


Here is what our profile says:

"Two Hearts for Hope, Stacy Segebarth & Kimberly Prud’homme
Senator Claire McCaskill
Senator McCaskill is thrilled to select Two Hearts for Hope as her 2008 Angel in Adoption. Two Hearts for Hope was started in January 2008 by two women, Kim and Stacy, who traveled to Kazakhstan in 2007 to adopt their own children. Going through the adoption process from April to June 2007 made Kim and Stacy aware of the environment that these orphans reside in. Less than perfect conditions with not enough supplies plague these orphanages and make these children’s lives very hard. After seeing these conditions first-hand and how many children are still awaiting adoption in Kazakhstan, Kim and Stacy decided to create Two Hearts for Hope. The organization intends to make Kazak orphans lives better while they wait for a caring family to adopt them. Every month Two Hearts for Hope takes donations for items ranging from shoes and socks, to hygiene products, to toys. These donations are boxed up and carried to Kazakhstan by other families looking to adopt a child. While there, the boxes are dropped off to various orphanages for the children. The supplies enrich the lives of these orphans and help to add joy and hope to them as they wait to be adopted. Kim and Stacy started this organization all on their own and it has grown immensely to help make 1,000s of Kazak orphans lives better. Two Hearts for Hope continues to accept donations for Kazak orphans and is currently planning a trip to Kazakhstan to personally deliver these presents to the orphans. Stacy and Kim’s devotion and dedication for helping Kazak orphans makes them an excellent choice for Missouri’s Angel of Adoption."

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

This week....

We want to thank The Willis Family (WA), The Keilin family (OH) and The Sykora Family (CT) for their donations.

We want to give a special recognition to Inga Bass for creating a new logo for us. She has donated her time to make it and we appreciate it so much! She has also volunteered to create a new web site when we are ready to go .com . Thank you Inga!!


We also want to say thank you to Southern Heights Christian Church of Lebanon MO for collecting money and toys for the children of Kazakhstan. This week they are having a Vacation Bible School and the mission of the week is Two Hearts for Hope!

Yesterday they brought in over 50 toys and everyday the children are learning about life in orphanages. They are asking lots of questions and we think they are starting to understand why it is important for us to take care of the children left behind. It is so exciting to see little minds learn the importance of orphan care and adoption!


Just a reminder that July is toy month!!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Mission: Kazakhstan

One of the ideas we have wanted to do since starting Two Hearts has been to put together a mission trip to Kazakhstan. We are in the very beginning stages of planning a trip to Kazakhstan for early spring or next fall. We have to wait for our 501 (c) 3 to come in before we can officially begin to purchase tickets and visas. We have been told our application can take anywhere from 2 months to a year and a half. Please pray it is sooner rather than later.

We do know that we will be traveling to the Karakastek orphanage outside of Almaty for about 10 days. Adults and children over 10 are welcome to come along.

If you are interested in joining us on our trip please email us. We are beginning by taking names of those interested and will keep you updated on all developments.

hopeforkazorphans@aol.com


Thank you this week to the following families for your donations: The Tennen Family (AZ), Mary McNab (MN), The Bilbro Family (TN), The Milton Family (MO) and The Hochstetler Family (IN).

Friday, July 18, 2008

And the winner is.....

Sara Tennen of Arizona!

Sara is the lucky winner of this months raffle.  Congratulations Sara and thank you for supporting Two Hearts!  We were able to collect over $300 for "Bikes and Beds" program in the Tschuchinsk region!

Check back next month for another great raffle!  

Thursday, July 17, 2008

One day left......

Only one day left to purchase your raffle tickets!

We are raffling a great bundle of prizes including a Vera Bradley travel organizer, bracelets and two gift certificates.

100% of the proceeds will go directly to the Tschuchinsk region.

Tickets are $5 each. The drawing is July 18th! I hope you will consider helping children in need.



Reminder - July is toy month!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Thursday Thank you's

Thank you to the following families for their donations this week -

The Bilbro Family (TN), The Glidewell Family (MO), Angie Frakes (WA), The Amadeo Family (CT) and Lynn Piascyk (CT).

We would also like to thank Michelle Reed, the organizer of the Midwest Kazakh Gathering that we attended over the weekend. Thank you for allowing us to speak and share our story and desire to help the children of Kazakhstan. We were able to collect more donations and sell more cookbooks! It was a fun weekend and we are grateful for your support.

Don't forget that July is toy month.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

This week we want say Thank You to...


The children in Karakastek receiving their new things!

The Glidewell Family (MO), The Baker Family (MO), The Milton Family (MO), The Strieby Family (CA), The Dewitt Family (OH), The Marcacci Family (CA), and The Kudwa Family (MI). Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts, you are all special angels in the lives of the children.

We want to especially recognize Cameron Dewitt (OH). He honored his Daddy's birthday by buying art supplies for the orphans of Kazakhstan! Thank you Cameron (Brent and Buffy)for being so thoughtful and thinking about the children left behind!

Today we (Kim and I) meet with Liz from Hadassah's Hope to see how their service trip was and to receive all of the pictures of the children receiving their "gifts"! Elizabeth did tell me that they are waiting on the orphanage director's to get back to them on how they want to spend the money we sent them. ($5000.00). I can't wait to see how it gets used. She said Taraz is wanting some dental equipment and Karakastek will let them know soon. What a blessing to be able to give the kids "a little bit of hope".


We want you all to know that we think that the most important thing for the children is to find them a loving home with a mommy and daddy to love them and hold them close. You have to be strong to adopt. When you go over there and look at these children and see that where there should be light there is dark. Where they should be laughing they are crying. Underfed and without proper medicine. Wearing the same clothes day after day. When you are outside playing and the toddlers are running up to you asking for hugs and calling you mom and dad all you can do is pray for strength not to cry. No child deserves this.


No child should be without a family to love them and take all their cares away. They are so young and already so burdened by life. We know that it is not possible for everyone to adopt a child or for all of the children to be adopted but we must listen as God whispers his plan and follow our hearts. Listen and act. Act and you can change lives forever.


Our "mission" is to help give hope to the children that are left behind but our main prayer and goal is that we show people how adoption can not only change the child's life but how it will forever change yours! We hope that our story reaches just one family and makes the difference for one more child! If we don't try to save the children, who will?? Enjoy this poem!

The Starfish Poem
Once upon a time there was a wise man
who used to go to the ocean
to do his writing.
He had a habit of walking
on the beach
before he began his work.
One day he was walking along
the shore.
As he looked down the beach,
he saw a human
figure moving like a dancer.
He smiled to himself to think
of someone who would
dance to the day.
So he began to walk faster
to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw
that it was a young man
and the young man wasn't dancing,
but instead he was reaching
down to the shore,
picking up something
and very gently throwing it
into the ocean.
As he got closer he called out,
"Good morning! What are you doing?"
The young man paused,
looked up and replied,
"Throwing starfish in the ocean."
"I guess I should have asked,
why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"
"The sun is up and the tide is going out.
And if I don't throw them in they'll die."
"But, young man, don't you realize that
there are miles and miles of beach
and starfish all along it.
You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely.
Then bent down, picked up another starfish
and threw it into the sea,
past the breaking waves and said-
"It made a difference for that one."

Remember TOGETHER we can make a difference!
July is TOY month, please try to get toys that are not battery operated. We know that once they get to Kazakhstan they will probably not replace battery's. Thank you all for making us who we are today!