Tackling the Global Orphan Crisis {plus a book giveaway!}

From Poppy: I am glad to have Diane Elliot on my blog today, sharing about her book, The Global Orphan Crisis. Please take a few minutes to read Diane's guest post below, then enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of her book!On a beautifully sunny, warm morning in the heart of Port au Prince, Haiti, I experienced a day I will never forget.  It was the day I saw the result of relentless poverty in the face of a little girl.Baby Jennifer was born at the “wrong” time and in the “wrong” place to parents who already had four mouths to feed and little money to feed them. The husband told his wife not to get pregnant, but unfortunately she did. Three months after the baby was born, the couple walked into Ruuska Village carrying a precious little girl wrapped in a spotless white blanket with a pink knitted bonnet on her head. They signed all the papers, the mother lovingly nursed baby Jennifer one last time, and then handed her over to the director, walking out of her life forever.Three years ago, I was called to write a book about the global orphan crisis. I didn’t have any special skills or knowledge, but I was willing to step out in faith, believing that if God truly called me, he would give me the tools necessary to finish the task. I also thought that after I finished the book, I would likely just move on to the next project that God put in my path. However, on that same Haiti trip that I met baby Jennifer, I clearly felt God's call to be an advocate for orphaned children.A year later, God opened the door to an orphan care ministry that serves children in Kenya where I am now, as an Operations Administrator for Oasis for Orphans. The orphan crisis is so huge that it will take an “all hands on deck” approach to meet this growing and devastated population. I invite you to read the Global Orphan Crisis  - Be the Solution, Change Your World. It is informative, difficult, and will break your heart. But it will also give you the resolve to make a difference in the lives of children that need you so desperately.---Diane Elliot is an author and the Operations Administrator for Oasis for Orphans serving orphaned children in Kenya. With a heart for God and for orphaned children, Diane wrote, The Global Orphan Crisis - Be the Solution, Change Your World, in hopes that it would encourage Christ Followers to actively engage as solutions to the crisis. Diane has a BA in Communications and an MBA in Global Management. Diane lives in Wauconda, Illinois with her husband and Alaskan Klee Kai pup, Kody, and has served on more than a dozen mission and relief projects around the world. For more information about serving orphaned children or donating to Oasis for Orphans visit  www.oasisfororphans.org or e-mail her at Diane (at) oasisfororphans (dot) org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------And now for the giveaway! To enter: Sign in to the Rafflecopter widget below. Choose as many ways to enter as you want.Please note: This giveaway is open from Tuesday, October 1st until Sunday, October 6th at 11:59pm PST. This giveaway is only open to US residents. (If you are an email subscriber, you must click through to access the post on the blog to enter the giveaway.)a Rafflecopter giveawayTerms of giveaway: This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end at the end of the day October 6, 2013. All entrants must be 18 years old or older. Enter through the Rafflecopter above. Incomplete entries will be deleted. Once a winner is selected, I will contact them via email. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, I will select another winner.