Hello!

We are Paul and Lisa Bowden from Alexandria, MN. Our family hosted, through God's leading and provision, an orphaned sibling group of 4 from Ukraine during the summer of 2015.

This was an amazing life-experience that changed the course of our family.  Through our hosting adventure, God allowed connections to form with Ukrainian and American contacts.

We started Courageous Families in 2017 to help other families make an impact in a child's life through orphan hosting.  For three summers our Ukrainian Coordinator brought orphans to MN for hosting experiences with local families, which resulted in 8 orphans finding their forever family! In 2020 our UA coordinator retired, we are thankful for the years he gave connecting kids and families across the ocean.

Most of 2020 was spent in reflection, prayer and preparing. God continues to move our hearts in response to the global orphan crisis. We will continue to advocate for orphans by financially coming alongside MN families who are hosting kids through Open Hearts and Homes for Children (OHHC)

What the Holy Spirit impressed on my heart most in 2020 was asking what we could do for families locally.  After meeting with the Courageous Families board and months of prayer, two ways came to our heart and mind. The first is meeting urgent needs of families in crisis as need are made known (ex. rent assistance, personal care items, spiritual encouragement, life skills mentoring) The second is marriage mediation and enhancement by serving and building the traditional family unit to prevent or respond to a crisis situation. My husband, Paul and I became Certified Marriage Mediators through XO Marriage, knowing that any marriage can go from broken to blessed. From good to great.

Courageous Families is committed to advocating for orphans, serving and strengthening the traditional family and meeting crisis needs as God leads us.

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In Him,

Lisa Bowden

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