Back in April, I went on a date with Daddy. After
a nice dinner, we found ourselves browsing the Christian bookstore (big
surprise, I know. J)
As I walked past one of the shelf-end displays, a book caught my eye, entitled “Orphan Justice” by Johnny Carr. The
subtitle really jumped out at me: “How to Care for Orphans Beyond Adopting.”
Caring for orphans is something I’m passionate about and adoption is the number
1 way to help that pops into most people’s minds.
But for teens like me, adoption won’t be an
option for a number of years. But I want and feel called to help NOW. When I
opened the book and saw page after page of endorsements from people like Katie
Davis and Jim Daly, I knew I had to read the book. While I’m not usually a
spur-of-the-moment shopper, I couldn’t get to the register quick enough. J
I was definitely not disappointed! Johnny
Carr starts off with his story, and how he went from never wanting to adopt, to
now being the adoptive father of 3 special-needs children. The book then takes
one topic related to orphans and discusses it in one chapter. Some of these
topics include orphans and human trafficking, orphans and HIV/AIDS, orphans and
orphanages, orphans and poverty, orphans and foster care, and more.
One thing that I really appreciated about the
book is Johnny Carr’s honesty. He’s not afraid to ask the hard questions and
point out the flaws in current orphan care systems. The problems related to
orphans are complex, and do not have easy answers. About half-way through each
chapter, I would have to set the book down a minute as my mind reeled from the
complexity of our broken world.
That might make you think you don’t want to
read this book. But the best feature of the book is the end of each chapter.
After discussing the deep problems of a certain subject, each chapter ends with
a section called “What You Can Do.” There are 3 different paragraphs; something
ANYONE can do, something MANY can do, and something that FEW can do. Johnny
Carr does a great job of writing in a way that makes you want to jump out of
your seat RIGHT NOW and do something to help orphans. These 3 options at the
end of each chapter are a great way to give guidance on how to help out a
specific problem related to orphan care. There is no excuse NOT to help after
reading this book.
I would highly recommend this book for ages
12 and up, particularly those who may already be involved in some type of
orphan care, or who are passionate about serving orphans. Another good reality
this book points out, is that EVERY Christian has a RESPONSIBILITY to care for
orphans. It’s not some optional command in the Bible. While our levels of
commitment will be different, we’re all called to do SOMETHING.
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